The leaders of Israel and the U.S. met in the Oval Office Monday to talk about the threat of Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian question. President Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he’s looking for diplomatic progress with Iran by the end of the year, and that the military option is not off the table, the New York Times reports.
Israel has expressed its willingness to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities to prevent them from creating nuclear weapons. The U.S. and E.U. are approaching diplomatic talks which could come in June after the Iranian elections. There have been no diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Iran since 1979.
Obama reassured Netanyahu that a strategy is in place if the diplomacy stalls. The U.S. will likely advocate for strong sanctions for Iran. He implied that he was motivated to get Iran to halt it’s nuclear program.
“We’re not going to create a situation in which talks become an excuse for inaction while Iran proceeds.”
The question is, how willing would the U.S. be to support an Israeli bombing campaign against Iran? Netanyahu and Obama were feeling each other out, not necessarily showing all their cards. The two sides appear to have slightly different interests. The U.S. wants to diffuse the situation while Israel wants to urgently stop Iran at all costs.
Which side will have the upper hand in this relationship? It appears Netanyahu won a small victory by getting Obama to acknowledge the possibility of a military option. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said an Israeli attack on Iran would be nothing but a disaster.
One of Obama’s goals is to get Netanyahu to support a two-state solution with Palestine. The Israeli leader said he’s willing to resume peace talks immediately, but emphasized that the Palestinians had to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Hamas, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, does not recognize Israel.
Obama also said that Israel’s biggest threat is an unstable Palestine. He said the way to reduce Iran’s influence is to start a real two-state solution in order to diffuse the power of Hamas and Hezbollah, the L.A. Times reports.
Netanyahu emphasizes the direct threat of Iran. Obama thinks that Palestine remains the central problem spreading anti-Western sentiment in the region. Several foreign policy experts, like those at the Cato Institute, make this argument.
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