Prime Minister’s office walks back Iran deal, Nazi comparison
August 8, 2016JTA – Hours after Israel’s Defense Ministry compared the Iran nuclear deal to the 1938 Munich Agreement — a failed bid by European powers to appease Nazi Germany — the Prime Minister’s Office scrambled to do damage control with the United States.
While Israel still does not support the Iran nuclear deal, it still considers the United States its greatest ally, the Prime Minister’ Office said in a statement Friday night.
The Prime Minister’s Office was blindsided by the Defense Ministry’s statement earlier in the day, according to Israeli news reports Saturday, and worked overtime Friday night to downplay it, including in a telephone call to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro.
Defending the deal Thursday, amid allegations that the U.S. paid Iran $400 million as “ransom” to secure the release of American prisoners, U.S. President Barack Obama said the “Israeli military and security community … acknowledges this has been a game changer.”
“By all accounts, it has worked exactly the way we said it was going to work,” he said.
Some high-level former and current Israeli defense figures have spoken out in favor of the deal, albeit with caveats.
But the Israeli government remains against the deal, which lifts sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear program, signed last summer between Iran and six world powers, including the United States. Israel and many American Jewish groups fiercely opposed the deal.
“While Israel’s view on the Iran deal remains unchanged, Prime Minister Netanyahu firmly believes that Israel has no greater ally than the United States,” reads the statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
“As the Prime Minister articulated last year at the United Nations, it is important now that both the who supported the deal and those who opposed it work together to achieve these three goals: Keep Iran’s feet to the fire to ensure that it doesn’t violate the deal; confront Iran’s regional aggression; and dismantle Iran’s global terror network.”
The statement concludes: Netanyahu “looks forward to translating these goals into a common policy and to further strengthening the alliance between Israel and the United States with President Obama and with the next U.S. administration.”
Similar posts
-
Israel Is Held To A Higher Standard Than Any Country
April 25, 2024In the intricate tapestry of global affairs, one nation stands out for enduring scrutiny and condem...
-
Israel Has The Most Moral Military In The World
April 10, 2024In the heart of a region often riddled with conflict, Israel stands out not only for its technologi...
-
The Resilience of the Israeli People
April 2, 2024Visitors from around the world have seen Hamas's October 7th Massacre's destruction in southern Isr...
-
Israel: Small Size, Big Impact
March 21, 2024Nestled along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel is a land of immense historical sig...
-
Israelis Are Fighting For Their Lives
February 21, 2024By Jonathan S. Tobin The world looks a lot different from Kibbutz Kfar Aza than it does in the U...
-
Over 2 Million Arabs Live In Israel
January 23, 2024In the complex landscape of the Middle East, where diverse cultures and identities intersect, Israe...
-
'Fauda' Star Idan Amedi Injured Fighting in Gaza
January 8, 2024Despite the severity of his injuries, Amedi's father assured Israeli news channels that his life is...
-
Israel Is A Great Country To Live In
December 28, 2023Nestled at the crossroads of the Middle East, Israel stands as a vibrant and dynamic nation, offeri...