Israeli Foreign Minister In Washington Shares Concerns Over Iran
On Tuesday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with the US National Security Advisor and is set to meet with others as part of a visit to Washington.
On Tuesday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with the US National Security Advisor and is set to meet with others as part of a visit to Washington.
Lapid’s office released a statement after his meeting with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan saying, “the foreign minister shared with the national security advisor Israel’s concerns about Iran’s race toward nuclear capabilities, as well as that Iran is becoming a nuclear threshold state.”
The statement went on to stress that “Lapid also discussed with the national security advisor the need for an alternative plan to the nuclear agreement.”
While in the United States, Lapid is also meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and other lawmakers. He will also participate in a special trilateral meeting with Blinken and the UAE’s foreign minister.
This visit comes as Israeli officials have become increasingly vocal in their impatience with the stalemate in nuclear negotiations with Iran. They have urged the Biden administration to prepare another package of sanctions as well as undertake military drills in the Middle East as a show of force to pressure Iran to return to the table.
Jerusalem has also repeatedly emphasized the need to formulate a Plan B on Iran, should the nuclear negotiations with Tehran fail to salvage the nuclear deal from 2015.
General Abbas Nilforushan told Tasnim news website affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) that “there is no American today who is not ashamed of the way US forces escaped from Afghanistan after occupying the country for 20 years.”
This was the result of “accumulated strategic mistakes and lack of a good understanding of cultural factors in the region”, the Iranian commander said, but did not elaborate.
Nilforushan emphasized that geopolitical conditions in the region are changing in favor of the Islamic Republic and its allies, which will lead to a complete pullout of the United States from its current bases.
He also claimed that Israel is on the verge of collapse under the pressure of Iran and its allies.
Tehran has called for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq after its top Middle East operator, Qasem Soleimani was killed by American drones in January 2020 as he arrived in Baghdad. Iran-backed Shiite militias have been harassing the relatively small number of US forces remaining in Iraq by periodic rocket and drone attacks.
Anti-American rhetoric, particularly by IRGC and its top officers has continued and Nilforushan’s interview with Tasnim is the latest example of attempts to present the US as weak and Iran as victorious after events in Afghanistan.
The IRGC general said he believes the Americans have not given up and will try new ways to compensate. One of these is relying on others to project power and try to save Israel from defeat, but they have lost their levers of power.
Asked if the US withdrawal from West Asia is a response to China’s growing power or a result of a Democratic administration unwilling to use military force, Nilforushan said US foreign policy has a systemic nature and is not dependent on change of administrations, although they might employ different tactics. He added that if the United States wants to compete with China, “the real theater is the Middle East where the Chinese are gradually filling the economic vacuum” left by Washington.
“It is not correct to say that the Americans are fleeing the region based on a calculated strategy. They are fleeing because of the pressure of the resistance front and their own mistakes,” he said. Regarding US bases in the region, “It is better that the Americans choose the right option instead of being forced to flee like the Afghanistan model,” Nilforushan said.
The emphasis on the notion that the US is fleeing from the region, seems to be a calculated psychological campaign by the IRGC. In fact, the US still maintains its bases in the Persian Gulf, in Iraq and has a presence in Syria, in addition to close military cooperation with allies in the region.
Nilforushan also commented about Israel, saying that the “Zionist regime is completely encircled by the Islamic Republic”, and is trying to confront Iran by other means, but the IRGC has complete knowledge of what the US and Israel are attempting to do.
Several significant sabotage attacks have taken place against Iran’s nuclear, military and strategic targets since July 2020, widely thought to be the work of Israeli intelligence. Nevertheless, Nilforushan said Israel can pose no threat against Iran as its foundations are shaken and it cannot even confront the Gaza strip.
Tasnim quoted the IRGC general as saying, “For Israel’s annihilation there is no need for a military campaign.”
