New Israeli government seeks to reset relationship with US

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with Secretary Blinken and sought to reset a relationship with the U.S. after the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu.

ROME -- Israel continues to have "serious reservations" about the Iran nuclear deal amid ongoing negotiations over the future of the agreements, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Sunday in his meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Rome. In his first meeting with Blinken since taking office in Israel's new government, Lapid pledged to communicate directly with the Biden administration and sought to reset a relationship between Washington after the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu, who aligned himself closely with former President Donald Trump. "In the past few years, mistakes were made. Israel's bipartisan standing was hurt, and we will fix those mistakes together," Lapid said. "In the past few days I spoke with a series of American leaders, Democrats and Republicans. I reminded them all that we share America's most basic values -- freedom, democracy, free markets, the constant search for peace." As the United States prepares to kick off a new round of negotiations over the prospect of reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Lapid said "the way to discuss those disagreements is through direct and professional conversation, not in press conferences," echoing the Biden administration's own strategy of quiet, closed-door diplomacy.