WASHINGTON – Ron Dermer, Israel’s Ambassador in Washington, said on Monday that if President-elect Joe Biden would decide to join the nuclear agreement with Iran, “it would be a mistake.”
Dermer participated in a panel discussion at the Economic Club of Washington with United Arab Emirates ambassador to the US Yousef al Otaiba and Bahrain ambassador to the US Abdulla al-Khalifa.
Biden said multiple times during his campaign that he would reenter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement again under specific terms.
“I think it would be a mistake, and hopefully he will look at the Middle East as it is, he will see the benefits of [the normalization] process of how he can continue that process and [..] not go back into the same deal,” Dermer said.
He noted that Israel and the Arab countries in the Gulf opposed the 2015 agreement.
“The Prime Minister opposed it publicly in Congress in 2015, but I think he spoke for many others in the region,” Dermer continued. “And I think that when you have Israelis and Arabs who were saying to you, ‘this is not a good idea, do not follow that path,’ that should be taken into consideration.”
The Israeli Ambassador said that both Israel and the Arab countries “were not at the table” when the agreement was discussed and that he hopes that this time things would be different.
“The first thing I would say to the incoming administration is sit with your allies in the region,” Dermer said. “Listen to us; we have the most skin in the game, we have the most to lose, speak to us try to work out a common position, which I think is possible not only to deal with nuclear issues, but also to deal with the regional aggression of Iran, forge a common policy with your allies in the region that will both enhance this process. And I think the input the United States in a much better place to deal with Iran.”
He also addressed the negotiations between Israel and the UAE to normalize ties over the summer.
“As we were moving forward to extend Israeli sovereignty over territory, that was consistent with the Trump peace plan […] the UAE contacted the White House and said, ‘Look, if Israel is willing to suspend the extension of sovereignty, we are willing to normalize,’” Dermer recalled. “And once we had that real offer on the table, it took us several weeks and we were able to finalize it and really create a breakthrough for the whole region.”
Speaking about the term “to suspend” extending sovereignty, Dermer said: “That was a word that was carefully chosen. It is very specific: It doesn’t mean permanent; It doesn’t mean tomorrow. It means somewhere in between those two positions.”
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