The United States and Israel they have chosen to convene a strategic working group on Iran, with the first round of talks on intelligence services around Iran’s nuclear program expected in the coming days, Axios said.
Why does it matter: President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have strongly contrasting views on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but the resumption of the working group is a signal that their governments are beginning a serious and professional dialogue, rather than a political struggle.
Flashback: The working group was set up in the early days of the Obama administration, following a visit to the White House in Netanyahu in 2009. The top secret forum was even given a special code name.
- It was the main venue for the strategy on how to apply pressure on Iran during Obama’s first term and became the main framework for revealing disagreements over the nuclear deal during Obama’s second term.
- During Donald Trump’s tenure, the forum met to discuss the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and to coordinate the “maximum pressure” campaign.
- The forum is led by national security advisers from the US and Israel – currently Jake Sullivan and Meir Ben-Shabbat – and includes top officials from various national security agencies, foreign policy and intelligence from both countries.
News management: Sullivan proposed resuming the working group in his first phone call with Ben-Shabbat on January 23.
- Israel has been embroiled in a disagreement between agencies over how to engage with the White House on Iran, and the decision to accept the proposal was further delayed by Israel’s internal unrest ahead of next month’s elections.
Behind the scenes: On Monday, Netanyahu held the first high-level interagency meeting on Iran with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and the heads of other national security and intelligence agencies.
- The meeting started with the various agencies that have provided updates on their commitments so far with the Biden administration, in order to provide a complete picture of what was discussed through the various channels, sources familiar with the meeting tell me.
- Then came proposals on how to interact with the Biden administration in the future. The directors of the Mossad intelligence agency and the Israeli Defense Forces both stressed the need for a peaceful dialogue, free from public confrontation.
- The main element of action was the decision to accept the proposal to resume the working group.
What’s next: Israel’s top priority at the first meeting – which will take place over a secure video conferencing system – is to present all the latest information and data on Iran’s nuclear program and assess whether US and Israeli intelligence images align.
- Israeli sources familiar with the issue say a baseline of mutual information needs to be established before moving on to policy talks.
Game status: Netanyahu quickly expressed concern last Friday after Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the United States was ready to begin nuclear talks with Iran to restore the 2015 agreement.