TEHRAN— In a meeting in the White House Joe Biden and Naftali Bennett discussed the Iran nuclear issue. The discussion of course did not go well as Biden said “if diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn to other options.”

The full quotation of Biden is this, “We also are going to discuss the threat from Iran and our commitment to ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon. But we’re putting diplomacy first and seeing where that takes us. But if diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn to other options.”

Biden’s dementia seems to be catching him more often nowadays, as his former boss Barack Obama on March 20, 2013 famously used the phrase “All options are on the table” in dealing with Iran. However, that phrase did not do well, did it?

The Obama administration agreed to a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program in 2015, once again proving that the “other option” bluff is not workable, and the U.S. has no option other than make a return to the negotiation table. 

Biden’s senior advisors are Robert Malley and Anthony Blinken, who reportedly help a lot in drafting the JCPOA agreement. The two even reportedly played a significant role in conducting the 15-minute phone call between Obama and then-president Hassan Rouhani. 

However, the Obama-Biden administration were somehow were under the influence of Benjamin Netanyahu, Tel Aviv’s former prime minister. It seems that the situation has not changed with the substitution of the actors. The mannequins change, yet, the policy remains the same. 

Biden must know that time has passed, and Iran is not in the same position it was 6 years ago. Iran, since the violation of the nuclear deal by the United States, has increased its nuclear activities as a remedial measure. It is vital to remember what triggered Iran to do so, as the Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed out on Saturday.

“Diplomacy should not be impacted by the nuclear issue. In the nuclear issue, the U.S. acted extremely shamelessly. They withdrew from the JCPOA but talked as if Iran had withdrawn from it. They ridiculed the negotiations. The Europeans acted like the U.S., too,” the Leader remarked in his first meeting with President Ebrahim Raisi and his cabinet.

“The current U.S. government is no different from the previous one. They demand the same things that Trump demanded. Behind the scenes of U.S. foreign policy there lies a predatory wolf that sometimes changes into a cunning fox. Today’s situation in Afghanistan is an example of this,” Ayatollah Khamenei stated.

To understand the importance of what the Leader said on Saturday, let us take a look at what Biden and Bennett said on Friday. 

Biden said, “We’ll support Israel’s developing deeper ties as well with the Arab and Muslim neighbors and globally. That’s a trend that I think should be encouraged, not discouraged. And we’re going to do all we can to be of value [to it]. We also are going to discuss ways to advance peace and security and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians. And we’re also going to direct our teams to work toward Israel fulfilling the requirements of the visa waiver program to get that done.”

He continued, “The U.S. will always be there for Israel. It’s an unshakeable partnership between our two nations. And I’ve known every Israeli prime minister since Golda Meir, gotten to know them fairly well, and I look forward to us establishing a strong personal relationship. So welcome.”

For his part, Bennett, in a rather ironic statement, said, “I come here from Jerusalem our eternal capital, and I bring with me a new spirit, a spirit of goodwill, a spirit of hope, a spirit of decency and honesty, a spirit of unity and bipartisanship of folks…”

Well, it is obvious that Biden is no different from Trump. As mentioned earlier, mannequins change, but the policy is the same. 

Now let’s go to the not-so-funny joke Bennett said. “I bring with me a new spirit, a spirit of goodwill, a spirit of hope, a spirit of decency and honesty, a spirit of unity and bipartisanship of folks…”

With that logic, one must assume that for 73 years, there was an utterly meaningless struggle between the defenseless Palestinians and the Israeli settlers. Has it really been for this “goodwill, hope, decency and honesty,” that Israel has been bombarding, gunning down, and suppressing them! Your joke is not at all funny Bennett. On the other hand, it is a pure lie, contrasting your claim of “spirit of decency and honesty.” 

The meeting between Biden and Bennett is a prelude for pressuring Iran to retract from its rightful nuclear activities. Back to what was mentioned earlier about how the Obama-Biden administration were influenced by the Tel Aviv policies, the difference is that Bennett assumes he is smarter than Bibi. Little does he know that details leak fast! 

Bennett told Biden that although he is against a U.S. return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, he isn’t going to publicly campaign against it like his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, two U.S. sources briefed on the meeting told Axios.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Admiral Ali Shamkhani tweeted on Saturday that while Biden’s talked about "other options" against Iran which is an illegal threat against another country, this gives Iran the right to "available options" as a reciprocal response. 

Washington and Tel Aviv seem to have forgotten the attack on the Ain al Asad Airbase attack on Jan 8, 2020. Iran now responds to any adventurist act. 

“Yet, determined to exercise its inalienable right to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in all its aspects, the Islamic Republic of Iran warns against any possible miscalculation or adventurist act by the Israeli regime. As stated in our previous letters to the Security Council, the Islamic republic of Iran reserves its inherent right under international law to take all necessary measures to protect and defend its citizens, interests, installations and sovereignty against any terrorist or disruptive acts,” Iran’s ambassador at the United Nations, Zahra Ershadi, wrote to the UN Security Council chief on Friday. 

Diverting the discussion, especially resorting to the tacky tools of military threat to force Iran to relinquish its legal rights, has never been able to get the desired result for the Israelis.

For a half-decade, the United States has been acting based on its calculations. There is nothing wrong with this, in principle. The problem is that these calculations go wrong most of the times. Case in point is the embarrassing evacuation from the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Seemingly, when you have a president who takes a fine nap when the boring Israeli prime minister begins ranting, you are bound to miscalculate vital issues. 

The Israeli regime’s possible adventurism will backfire, whether explicitly or implicitly, especially as they are trying to shape U.S. foreign policy. Biden must be wary that Iran is not that patient, and will retaliate with “available options.” It is best if he focuses on fixing the clownish show of evacuation from Afghanistan, and when all is done, get back to actually “negotiating” with goodwill. 

SA/PA