BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:30 A.M.) – The administration of US President-elect Joe Biden has informed Israeli officials that it has begun secret contacts with Iranian officials to return to the nuclear deal, according to Israeli Channel 12 correspondent Nir Dafouri.
This claim is consistent with previous assessments that the United States and Iran have started an indirect dialogue.
The head of the Israeli Mossad, Yossi Cohen, is holding talks in the American capital with officials in the administration of the outgoing President, Donald Trump, most notably the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
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According to diplomatic norms, Cohen does not hold talks with the newly elected administration before it officially takes office, but Channel 12 reported that Cohen held talks with Biden’s security staff.
Estimates in Israel indicate that the Biden administration and the Israeli government will clash due to the major differences between them on the Iranian issue.
Biden announced during his campaign that he would enter into negotiations with Iran and return to the nuclear agreement in the event that Iran returned to it, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers such a step a “fatal mistake.”
Unlike his predecessor Barack Obama, US President Donald Trump has been more aggressive with Iran, as he has withdrawn his country from the 2015 nuclear agreement and authorized the assassination of the Quds Force commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani.
