Israel has freedom to act against Iran nuclear threat - US

Israel has freedom to act against Iran nuclear threat - US

LAHAV HARKOV

 

Washington allows Israel freedom of action against the Iran nuclear threat,US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.

“We have made clear to Iran that it can never be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon,” Sullivan said in an address to the Washington Institute think tank on Thursday. “As President [Joe] Biden has repeatedly reaffirmed, he will take the actions necessary to stand by this statement, including by recognizing Israel’s freedom of action.”

“This is an issue that occupies the president’s attention, my attention, on a daily basis,” he said. “Iran’s program has advanced considerably. It is a genuine danger to regional security and to global security, and, indeed, to the United States of America. And we are going to continue to take action to, yes, deter Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and then to seek a diplomatic solution that puts this on a long-term pathway of stability.”

The national security adviser said the US continues to use diplomatic channels regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

“The best way to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is an effective agreement,” he stated. “I regard the decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA, without anything to replace it or any strategy to deal with it other than the imposition of sanctions—which we have continued and added to actually—is not necessarily a pathway to a clear and straightforward [deterrence].”

Iran’s nuclear program is advancing

Sullivan argued that without a deal, Iran’s nuclear program is advancing, while an agreement would scale it back.

“We will continue to send a clear message about the costs and consequences of going too far, while at the same time continuing to seek the possibility of a diplomatically brokered outcome that puts Iran’s nuclear program back in the box,” he said.

Sullivan said the US is cooperating with partners in the Middle East to deter Iran, such as holding the largest joint military exercise ever between the US and Israel this year, and one of the largest naval military exercises in the history of the Middle East with over 50 countries, including Israel and Gulf states working together.

“There can be no doubt that we are walking the walk and not just talking the talk when we say that our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad,” he said.