Netanyahu opposes Iran talks after Trump moots meeting Rouhani
US president ‘may meet Iranian leader to resolve crisis over nuclear project’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world powers on Thursday not to open a dialogue with Iran, after US President Donald Trump said he may meet his Iranian counterpart to resolve a crisis over Tehran’s nuclear project and sanctions against it.
“This is not the time to hold talks with Iran. This is the time to increase the pressure on Iran,” Netanyahu told reporters en route to London, where he was hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and was later scheduled to confer with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
Netanyahu’s comments marked rare public discord between the rightwing Israeli leader and Trump on the Iranian nuclear issue. Netanyahu had previously counseled France against its own outreach to Iran.
The Israeli leader, who is fighting for his political life in an election on Sept. 17, regularly touts his influence with Western leaders, especially fellow right-wingers such as Trump and Johnson, as vital for Israeli security. His opponents say his closeness to right-wing figures abroad hurts Israel by making support for it a partisan issue in friendly countries. On Wednesday, Trump left the door open to a possible meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York, saying: “Anything’s possible. They would like to be able to solve their problem.”
Tehran has rejected any negotiations with Washington unless Trump drops sanctions he imposed after quitting the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, an agreement Netanyahu had savaged as inadequate. Netanyahu called this “another violation, another provocation by Iran, this time in the realm of its quest for nuclear weaponry.”
Meeting Johnson at 10 Downing Street, Netanyahu praised the politically embattled British leader for his “staunch stance against anti-Semitism and ... support for Israel’s security.”