US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently warned Iran that if it harms Israel, the American military will respond, the Walla news site reported Thursday, quoting senior Israeli sources.
The sources reportedly said that in the run-up to President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday that the US would withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, “the US moved to the stage of graduated threats against Iran” in a bid to prevent any flareups in the region.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the report.
The Trump administration on Thursday condemned Iran’s firing some 20 rockets into Israel from Syria hours earlier, a move the White House warned could have far-reaching consequences for the entire region.
Almost immediately after the attack, Israel retaliated with a sustained bombing campaign, with Israeli jets targeting numerous Iranian-controlled sites across Syria, in the largest ever direct clash between Jerusalem and Tehran.
Pompeo visited Israel last week, soon after taking office, and held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pompeo warned then of Iran’s “destabilizing and malign activities” in the Middle East. “We remain deeply concerned about Iran’s dangerous escalation of threats to Israel and the region and Iran’s ambition to dominate the Middle East remains,” he said.
“The United States is with Israel in this fight,” Pompeo added.
Netanyahu thanked Pompeo for his and Trump’s opposition to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and their commitment to countering Iran’s regional “aggression.”
“That aggression has grown many folds since the signing of the Iran nuclear deal. If people thought that Iran’s aggression would be moderated as a result of signing the deal, the opposite has happened,” the prime minister said.
“Iran is trying to gobble up one country after another. Iran must be stopped,” Netanyahu added, calling Iran’s “marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons” the greatest threat to the world.
Before their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Pompeo called Israel “an incredibly important partner” and said it has a “special place in my heart.”
The US secretary’s visit to Israel preceded Netanyahu’s presentation of Iran’s nuclear weapons archive, which Israel spirited out of Tehran.
The cache, Netanyahu said, contained “incriminating documents, incriminating charts, incriminating presentations, incriminating blueprints, incriminating photos, incriminating videos and more.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Friday gave a first glimpse of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, showing off workers erecting the official seal on the building and preparing for the opening ceremony.
“We are so excited,” Friedman said in a video posted on the embassy’s Facebook page. “We have the official seal of the United States embassy. We have the dedication plaque. They are covered right now, but on Monday they are going to be unveiled.”
The video showed constructions workers setting up scaffolding and busy installing the huge seal. Friedman said the ceremony on Monday would be a “beautiful, inspirational event.”
“This year, thanks to the US administration, the courage, the vision of President Donald Trump we can say ‘this year in Jerusalem,'” he said, referencing the Passover wish of “next year in Jerusalem.”
Trump on Friday hailed the “big week” of the impending move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“Big week next week when the American Embassy in Israel will be moved to Jerusalem. Congratulations to all!” Trump tweeted.
Big week next week when the American Embassy in Israel will be moved to Jerusalem. Congratulations to all!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2018
Trump will deliver a video address for the opening of the new embassy, senior administration officials told reporters Friday morning.
Among the administration members attending are John J. Sullivan, the deputy secretary of state, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, US Special Envoy Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump.
The new US embassy will open with an initial staff of at least 50, according to senior Trump administration officials previewing the highly anticipated opening on May 14.
Roughly 800 guests will attend. Officials say the US delegation doesn’t plan to meet any Palestinian officials during their visit.
Initial embassy staff will include Friedman’s aides and US consular officers already working at the site. The embassy is opening in part of a pre-existing American visa-and-passport facility with a fraction of the total US personnel in Israel.
Friedman is expected to split his time between the new embassy in Jerusalem and his offices in Tel Aviv.
Friedman asserted Friday morning that relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem advances America’s interests and was not part of any “give and take” with Israel.
“It was an American interest to open the embassy,” he said. “The Israelis were obviously desirous of this and they requested this — they’re very happy by it — but the decision was made because it seemed to be in the best interests of the United States [and] it was something the president promised during the campaign. There was no give and take with Israel in regards to this decision.”
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