The United States and Israel chose to convene a strategic working group on Iran again, with the first round of talks on intelligence around the Iranian nuclear program expected in the coming days, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly disagree with the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, but the resumption of the working group is a sign that their governments are embarking on a serious and professional dialogue rather than a political struggle. .
Flash back: The working group was set up in the early days of the Obama administration following a visit to Netanyahu’s White House in 2009. The top secret forum even got a special code name.
- It was the most important place for strategies on how to apply pressure on Iran during Obama’s first term, and it was the primary institution to air differences of opinion on the nuclear deal during Obama’s second term.
- During Donald Trump’s term in office, the forum met to discuss the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and to coordinate the campaign for ‘maximum pressure’.
- The forum is chaired by US and Israeli national security advisers – currently Jake Sullivan and Meir Ben-Shabbat – and includes top officials from the various national security, foreign policy and intelligence agencies in both countries.
Send the news: Sullivan suggested that the working group be resumed in its first call with Ben-Shabbat on January 23.
- Israel has been embroiled in a disagreement between the government on how to enter into talks with the White House on Iran, and the decision on whether to accept the proposal was further delayed by Israel’s domestic unrest ahead of next month’s elections.
Behind the scenes: Netanyahu held his first high-level meeting on Iran on Monday with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, and the heads of the other national security and intelligence agencies.
- The meeting began with the various agencies that were up to date with their Biden administration to give a complete picture of what was discussed through the various channels, sources familiar with the meeting said.
- Then there are suggestions on how to proceed with the Biden administration. The directors of the Mossad intelligence agency and the Israeli army both stressed that a silent dialogue is needed, without public confrontations.
- The main action was the decision to accept the proposal to resume the working group.
What’s next: Israel’s top priority in the first meeting – which will take place above a secure video conferencing system – is to lay out all the latest information and information on Iran’s nuclear program and assess whether the US and Israeli information photos are in line.
- Israeli sources familiar with the matter say a baseline for mutual intelligence needs to be established before moving on to policy discussions.
The state of affairs: Netanyahu quickly expressed his concern last Friday after Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the United States was prepared to start nuclear talks with Iran to restore the agreement in 2015.