A month after coming to power, Joe Biden finally spoke, Wednesday evening February 17, with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, during a phone call in which Iran featured prominently.
The time taken by the new American president to contact “Bibi”, who was particularly pampered by Donald Trump, had sparked controversy in the Israeli press and provoked strong criticism from some Republican tenors.
“Good conversation”, summed up, laconic, Joe Biden from the Oval office. “The discussion was warm, friendly and lasted about an hour”, underlined for his part Mr. Netanyahu on Twitter, specifying that he addressed the questions of “Agreements” peace in the Middle East, “Iranian threat” and the management of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this evening with US President @JoeBiden. The conversation was very warm an… https://t.co/Vewq7BzaE1
The two leaders emphasized “The importance of continuing close consultation on regional security issues, in particular Iran”, said the White House, without elaborating on the thorny issue of the Iran nuclear deal.
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Normalization of relations with Israel
Joe Biden insisted on US support for the recent normalization of relations between Israel and countries in the Arab world. The United Arab Emirates announced last summer the normalization of relations with Israel, followed later by Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
But questions remain about the posture that the new administration will adopt: will the United States actually push other countries in the region to embark on the standardization train?
One of the key countries, seen as a potential candidate for standardization, is Saudi Arabia. In this regard, the Biden administration has already announced its intention to “Recalibrate” his relations with Riyadh and to change interlocutor to go from Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman (MBS) to King Salman.
Iranian nuclear program
One of the crucial issues for Saudi Arabia, as for Israel, remains the question of Iran’s regional influence and its nuclear program. The Jewish state has never hidden its opposition to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and had supported the campaign to “Maximum pressure” against Tehran led by the Trump administration, which unilaterally withdrew the United States from this agreement to restore sanctions.
President Biden has pledged to return to the agreement, on condition, however, that Iran first resigns to its commitments. Such a return would be a ” bad thing “, recently said IDF chief Aviv Kochavi.
In this regard, the normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries are a “Counterweight to the Shiite axis”, a term designating Iran’s regional support, and is a “Important opportunity to increase pressure on Iran”a senior Israeli army official told Agence France-Presse last week.
Agreement between Israel and the Palestinians
According to the White House report, Joe Biden also pointed out “The importance of advancing peace across the region, including between Israelis and Palestinians”. Where Donald Trump promised from the outset, in 2017, to find “The ultimate deal” between Israel and the Palestinians, without ever succeeding, the Biden administration has shown from the start its prudence, and its willingness to take its time.
The new head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, assured that the “Two-state solution” was the only viable one, thus reviving the international consensus battered by the Republican billionaire. But he also recognized that the different parts were “Very far from a breakthrough for peace” and a “Final resolution” with the creation of a Palestinian state.
Evidence of some embarrassment, the Biden administration has yet to clarify its position on the long list of pro-Israel unilateral decisions taken by Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
