WASHINGTON – State Department Spokesperson Ned Price addressed a question about Special Envoy Rob Malley’s visit to Israel, and said he had “excellent engagements” with Israeli officials. Malley’s trip to the Middle East comes two weeks before the next round of Vienna talks – the first round of indirect negotiations since May.
Speaking at Tuesday’s press briefing, Price said that “close consultation and coordination will continue as we get closer to November 29th and of course once those negotiations resume.”
“[Malley] met with Israel’s foreign minister, the defense minister, the national security advisor, the director of the Mossad, among other Israeli counterparts,” Price said. “When it comes to our Israeli [and] Gulf partners – during the previous six rounds of indirect negotiations in Vienna [we] have regularly briefed them on the course of those discussions. And as we prepare for the resumption of those talks, the seventh round in Vienna, this is an opportunity to compare notes and to prepare for that seventh round,” he added.
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Richard Goldberg, the senior advisor to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington, said that it’s important for the Biden administration to consult closely with key allies in the region before any engagement with Iran. “So the fact that Malley is doing this trip is positive,” he said. “The question, of course, is whether he is checking a box for the diplomatic optics or whether any of the concerns and objections he hears are being taken into consideration. To date, signs point to the former.”
Israel and the Gulf countries likely have a lot of questions to Malley, Goldberg continued. “Will the United States press forward with a resolution censuring Iran at the upcoming IAEA board meeting? Will there be a deadline to walk away from indirect talks with Iran and return to sanctions enforcement? Will the US entertain anything less than a return to JCPOA — that is, will Malley be open to negotiating a different deal that offers Iran sanctions relief for even more limited nuclear concessions than the JCPOA?” said Goldberg.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price speaks during daily press briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, US, February 22, 2021 (credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/POOL VIA REUTERS)
IRAN WAS ALSO a matter of discussion between Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. The two met at the State Department on Tuesday.
According to Roll’s office, the two “discussed Iran, and Middle East security issues.” They also spoke about the regional potential of the Abraham Accords and the need to expand them. Roll thanked Sherman in a statement “for the US friendship and support,” and said that the two had a constructive discussion on a broad range of regional issues.
According to the State Department, “the Deputy Secretary and the Deputy Foreign Minister discussed the importance of the US-Israel partnership and regional security issues.”
“The Deputy Secretary reiterated the Administration’s firm belief that Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and dignity,” the State Department said in a statement. ”The Deputy Secretary also emphasized the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”
