Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Rome yesterday, presumably to discuss the US’ push to renew the nuclear deal with Iran, which could threaten Israel.
Lapid stated to the press that “there is no relationship more important to Israel than the United States of America. There is no friend more loyal to the United States than Israel.”
Speaking of Blinken, Lapid noted that “like me, he grew up in the home of a Holocaust survivor, who always said that the world has a responsibility to ensure Israel’s peace and security. Mr. Secretary, I know we can count on you.”
“We will have disagreements, but they are not about the essence, they are about how to get there. We want the same things; we sometimes disagree about how to achieve them. Israel has some serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal being put together in Vienna,” he said.
“We will discuss a range of issues which concern Israel, including strengthening our ability to defend ourselves, working to minimize conflict between us and the Palestinians, while making life better for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” he added.
Blinken said they two discussed “the strong partnership between Israel and the United States, our commitment to Israel’s security, and our support for regional normalization efforts.”
This meeting comes as President Reuven Rivlin is in Washington to meet President Joe Biden and just after IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi spent a week meeting with the US military’s top brass and the heads of the US defense establishment.
Lapid also met with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani. The two discussed “bilateral ties and challenges faced by the Middle East, primarily Iran.”
He ended the day by meeting Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.
Israel fears that the Biden administration will return to a deal with Iran that not prevent it from developing its nuclear program, and by doing so, constituting an existential threat to the Jewish State.