As the media reports that the US is drawing closer to signing a nuclear deal with Iran, Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced on Tuesday that he will be flying to the US on Thursday morning to meet with US defense officials.

“We’ll do everything we can to influence the agreement,” Gantz said at a meeting of his National Unity party.

Yisrael Hayom reported on Wednesday that Israeli officials haven’t received any updates from the US on the talks with Iran since the beginning of the week.

“The mood is not positive,” one official said. “It’s true that in the past, we were already in a situation where it seemed the parties were close to signing an agreement, but the feeling is that it is different this time and that it is going to happen. Nevertheless, nothing is final yet.”

However, the report quoted another diplomatic official who believes that there are still ways to prevent the renewal of the nuclear deal. He said that Israeli appeals to the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the White House can help thwart a deal because “the US political system is before the mid-term elections, which Israel can leverage. President Biden has no political benefit from this pact.”

The official added that Israel can also emphasize the adverse effects the deal will have on regional alliances. “The hundreds of billions that Iran will receive will be directed to regional terrorism, which will harm Israel and America’s allies in the Gulf and its forces in the Middle East. We need to mobilize the regional allies to emphasize this. Exerting the right amount of pressure can yield results.”

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid held a press briefing for foreign journalists on Wednesday afternoon during which he explained Israel’s opposition to the renewal of the nuclear deal.

“Israel is not against any agreement,” Lapid said. “We are against this agreement because it is a bad one. Because it cannot be accepted as it is written right now. In our eyes, it does not meet the standards set by President Biden himself: preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear state.”

“On the table right now is a bad deal. It would give Iran a hundred billion dollars a year. This money will not build schools or hospitals. This is a hundred billion dollars a year that will be used to undermine stability in the Middle East and spread terror around the globe. This money will fund the Revolutionary Guards. It will fund the Basij who oppress the Iranian people. It will fund more attacks on American bases in the Middle East. It will be used to strengthen Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.”

“We have an open dialogue with the American administration on all matters of disagreement. I appreciate their willingness to listen and work together: the United States is and will remain our closest ally, and President Biden is one of the best friends Israel has ever known.

“We have made it clear to everyone: if a deal is signed, it does not obligate Israel. We will act to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state,“ Lapid concluded.

On Tuesday, Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made a “last-minute” public appeal to President Joe Biden to refrain from signing a deal with Iran.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)