Pence: US won’t let Iran dominate Mideast
Vice president launches visit following talks in Jordan, Egypt
US Vice President Mike Pence, considered one of the most pro-Israel American politicians ever to serve in such a high US political office, arrived in Israel on Sunday evening – warning that Washington will not let Iran dominate the Mideast.
Iran, even more than the Palestinian issue, is expected to be the focus of his talks here. One of the reasons is because the Palestinian Authority is boycotting his two-day visit in anger over US President Donald Trump’s decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move its embassy to the city.
Pence was one of the major advocates of the move inside the administration.
The vice president, accompanied by his wife, arrived from Jordan – where he visited US troops at a military facility near the border with Syria, following talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
“We will not waiver in our resolve to confront the leading state sponsor of terrorism, the dictatorship in Iran,” Pence told the troops, using very tough language. “Iran hopes to become the dominant power in the Middle East, by expanding its influence amidst the ruins of ISIS’ former territory. The ayatollahs in Tehran ultimately hope to threaten America’s allies across the wider region. But President Trump has put Iran on notice,” he continued.
Pence said that the US will “no longer tolerate Iran’s attempts to spread its malign influence or strengthen terrorists across this region.”
He added that Trump has made clear that the US “will never allow Iran to acquire a usable nuclear weapon. That is our promise to our allies and to the world.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will welcome Pence to his office on Monday morning, advised Europe to adopt Trump’s serious stance on Iran.
Speaking to Israeli ambassadors at a Foreign Ministry event, Netanyahu said of the Europeans: “If they want to preserve the deal with Iran, they should recommend changes to the deal – changes that will prevent the nuclearization of Iran, which would threaten them and the world.”
Netanyahu speculated last
week that if this is not done, Trump will indeed “nix” the accord.
Netanyahu on Sunday characterized Pence as a “great” and “true” friend of Israel, and described as a “disgrace,” the decision by the Joint List – the Knesset’s Arab party – to boycott “and even disturb” Pence’s scheduled address to the Knesset on Monday.
“We will receive him warmly and with pride,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister said that he had a “message” for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas: “There is no substitute for American leadership in the diplomatic process. Anyone who is not prepared to talk with the Americans about peace does not want peace.”
Pence, before his meeting in Jordan with Abdullah, said the US “remains committed, if the parties agree, to a twostate solution.” He added that Washington was “committed to restarting the peace process,” and was looking forward to Jordan’s “central involvement” in that process.
“President Trump made a historic decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but he also made clear in that decision that we are committed to continuing to respect Jordan’s role as the custodian of holy sites, [and] that we take no position on boundaries and final status,” he said. “Those are subject to negotiation.”
Abdullah, in his comments, made clear his opposition to Trump’s Jerusalem move, and said that Jerusalem is both “key to peace in the region and key to enabling Muslims to effectively fight some of our root causes of radicalization.”
Making no mention of the Palestinians’ refusal to meet Pence, Abdullah said: “Today, we have a major challenge to overcome, especially with some of the rising frustrations.” He expressed hope that the US “will reach out and find the right way to move forward in these challenging circumstances.”
Pence, who was last here on a private visit in December 2014, will begin his long-delayed visit on Monday morning in a meeting with Netanyahu at the Prime Minister’s Office. From there he will go to the Knesset where he will meet Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and address the plenum. In the evening, the vice president, the prime minister and their wives will meet for dinner at the Prime Minister’s residence.
On Tuesday Pence is slated to meet President Reuven Rivlin, tour Yad Vashem and go to the Western Wall. He is set to leave Tuesday afternoon. •