U.S. and Israel to hold high-level Iran consultations next week
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Trump (R) and Netanyahu in the Oval Office last month. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
A senior Israeli delegation is expected to visit the White House early next week for strategic consultations about Iran, two Israeli officials and one U.S. official tell Axios.
Why it matters: President Trump has given Tehran a two-month window to negotiate a new nuclear deal, as Axios reported, and has raised the threat of military strikes on Iran's nuclear program if no deal is reached.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his team think the odds of a deal are low, and want to align on a joint course of action should things escalate to military force, one of the Israeli officials said.
This will be the first meeting of the U.S.-Israel Strategic Consultative Group (SCG) since Trump assumed office. It's the most senior forum for U.S.-Israeli discussion on Iran's nuclear program.
Driving the news: Top Netanyahu advisers strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi are expected to lead the Israeli delegation, according to Israeli officials.
- The delegation will also include senior representatives from the National Security Council, the military, the Mossad, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission, the officials said.
- They are expected to meet with a U.S. team led by Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz and representatives from the State Department, Pentagon, and U.S. intelligence community.
Zoom in: A senior U.S. official said the talks are expected to focus on the Iranian nuclear issue and the possibility of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
- The official said the war in Gaza and the Israel-Lebanon negotiations over their disputed border are also expected to be discussed.
- The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Flashback: The working group was formed in 2009 during the Obama administration, receiving the code name "Opal."
- It was established to coordinate U.S. and Israeli strategy on Iran's nuclear program and regional activity, to share intelligence assessments and to coordinate policy and operations.
- After the Oct. 7 attacks, the SCG scope broadened and it became the main forum for discussing the wars in Gaza and Lebanon under President Biden.
