Israeli officials are trying to use Gen. Mark Milley
Mark Milley: Overnight Defense: Congress Plans Session to Suppress Trump’s Veto Potential | Miller makes unannounced trip to Afghanistan Interim Pentagon chief makes unannounced trip to Afghanistan amid retreat Overnight Defense: Top American General Meets Taliban | House panel launches cyber attack probe The army will issue more face masks for soldiers in 2021, Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff, to send sensitive messages to the Biden administration that relate to Iran and other regional developments.
An Israeli official told Axios that Jerusalem wants to express concern over negotiations with Iran and urge Biden’s aides to use Trump administration sanctions as “leverage” to reach a better nuclear deal with Tehran.
The official said that the Israelis see Milley as someone who “will still be in the room when Biden takes office and will play a key role in any policy review that takes place.”
The main US military chief was in Israel last week, at the end of a whirlwind trip to the Middle East, where he had meetings in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates.
In Israel, he met with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin netanyahu
Benjamin (Bibi) NetanyahuMORE, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Israel’s Chief Military Commander, Lt. General Aviv Kochavi.
President-elect Joe Biden
Joe BidenNewsom contacts Shirley Weber to hold the position of Secretary of State of California, the White House wishes Birx well after announcing the retirement of Karl Rove breaks Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell for the election. MORE he said he would bring the US back to the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump concluded in 2018, provided Iran returns to abiding by the pact.
Biden also said he was trying to negotiate a longer-term and more comprehensive agreement to address concerns such as Iran’s conventional arms program and the financing of proxy forces in the Middle East.
Israeli officials also want to keep up the momentum of normalization agreements between Israel and the Arab and Muslim-majority countries negotiated by the Trump administration and distinguish between concerns about human rights violations in those countries and efforts to strengthen alliances in the Middle East. .
“We think it is important for the next administration to keep up the momentum of the normalization process … So we hope that the new administration will analyze the complexities and not burn the bridges with these countries,” an Israeli official told Axios.
It seems that the new Biden administration retains substantive communications with foreign countries before the inauguration, in an effort to avoid any criticism of being influenced by foreign governments before taking office.
However, Biden spoke with Netanyahu last month. In the phone call, the Israeli prime minister congratulated the president-elect for his victory. Biden, meanwhile, reiterated his support for Israel’s security and expects to work closely to “address the many challenges facing our countries.”
Tensions between Israel, the US and Iran are high over the recent killing of a top Iranian nuclear scientist, which Tehran has blamed on Israel and the upcoming one-year anniversary of the US assassination of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in -a drone strike.
There is also uncertainty in Israel as the country moves towards the March national elections, the country’s fourth election in two years.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has continued its campaign of “maximum pressure” of sanctions against human rights abuses, while targeting Iranian industries such as oil, shipping and banking.