Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden this Thursday, with the main agenda item expected to be Iran's progress toward military nuclear capabilities.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Bennett confirmed on Sunday an Israel Hayom report that the scheduled visit to the White House would be an opportunity for Israel to present a strategy having to do with the Americans' intention of reaching a new nuclear agreement with Iran.
"The timing of the visit is very important, because we're at a critical point when it comes to Iran," Bennett said at the weekly cabinet meeting.
"Iran is progressing quickly on uranium enrichment, and the time it will take Iran to accumulate enough material for a single nuclear bomb has been shortened considerably," Bennett said.
Bennett criticized former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he said left Israel "a difficult situation."
However, Bennett stressed his opposition to a new nuclear agreement between Iran and the west.
"Iran is behaving aggressively and bullying the entire region. I'll tell President Biden that this is the time to top the Iranians, put a stop to this, and not throw them a lifeline in the form of rejoining a nuclear deal that has already run out. It's no longer relevant, even to those who once thought it was," Bennett said.
The prime minister continued: "We won't be satisfied with that – we'll present a well-ordered plan to stop Iran that we've putting together these last two months, both in terms of their nuclear program and also their regional aggression."
On Sunday, Israel Hayom reported that the meeting with Bennett and Biden was expected to give them an opportunity to get acquainted, as the two have never met in person; to exchange opinions on various issues; and mainly – to start work on an alternate strategy to deal with Iran.
The need for a new approach toward Iran comes as the US and several European powers are increasingly thinking that Iran has no desire to sign on to a renewed nuclear deal, in spite of the Biden administration's working assumption.
As the realization begins to sink in, US Special Adviser to Iran Rob Malley, one of the biggest proponents of the US rejoining the deal, said last week that the administration was preparing a plan to be kept in reserve if the deal could not be resurrected. However, as far as Israeli officials are aware, the US administration was fairly certain that the deal would be inked, so Israel had not prepared any plan of its own.
US government officials said that given the new assessment, and Israel's existing opposition to a new deal between the US and Iran, "We are now at a watershed moment that allows us to shape a new strategy that aligns with Israel's position."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
