Standing up to the US on the Iran deal is not an option

The consequences of sabotaging a deal with Iran would be dire for Israel.

United States President Joe Biden’s expected signature on an amended nuclear agreement with Iran puts Israel’s new government before a strategic dilemma. It essentially has two options: to adhere to the policy of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who ruled out any deal with Iran that would include even a partial lifting of sanctions, or to adopt a “if you cannot beat them, join them” approach by cooperating with the Biden administration and trying to plug the holes it identifies in the emerging deal. On his first meeting with his American counterpart Antony Blinken on June 27, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid hinted at what direction the new government may take. “We believe the way to discuss those disagreements is through direct and professional conversation, not a press conference,” Lapid said. This would be the exact opposite of the aggressive campaign mounted by Netanyahu against the 2015 deal, when he declined the Obama administration’s offer to take part in consultations prior to the sealing of the agreement. The agreement, which had limits of 10 to 15 years on some of its provisions, was not perfect. However, some senior Israeli defence officials insisted that it was far better than no agreement at all, as it forced Tehran to give up enriched uranium it had stockpiled and accept a regime of unprecedented inspections of its facilities.