Top US and Israeli security officials to discuss Iran, Palestinians in Washington

President Biden’s top national security official will meet with his Israeli counterpart in Washington on Tuesday, with the Iran nuclear issue and snuffing out tensions between Israelis and Palestinians expected to be at the forefront of discussions. 

National security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with Israel’s national security adviser Eyal Hulata as part of a series of meetings between U.S. and Israeli officials spanning the military, diplomatic and intelligence communities.

The meetings, called the U.S.-Israel Consultative Group, were first announced last week as Sullivan traveled to Egypt, highlighting Cairo’s integral role in achieving a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas after 11 days of devastating fighting in May. 

The meetings between U.S. and Israeli officials follow a nearly daily tempo of contact between the two allies, in particular amid stalled, indirect talks between Washington and Tehran over efforts to roll back Iran’s nuclear activities. 

Biden is intent that bringing Iran back to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama-era nuclear deal that former President Trump withdrew from in 2018, is the only way to prevent the Islamic republic from attaining a nuclear weapon.

But the president has also said he is open to using other options if diplomacy fails.

“We, of course, remain committed to a diplomatic path,” a senior administration official said. 

“We think that is the best way to put a ceiling on the program and roll back the gains that Iran has made in recent years on the nuclear side. But obviously if that doesn’t work, there are other avenues to pursue, and we’re fully committed to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.” 

The U.S.-Israel Consultative Group is also expected to discuss supplemental funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. The Biden administration has put its support behind a $1 billion appropriations package in Congress but that is being blocked by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). 

“We know Senate leadership is actively working to get that passed as we continue to engage them on what the best path forward might look like,” the official said.

The meetings between U.S. and Israeli officials, to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, are the first in-person gathering of the group, despite holding at least two previous virtual sessions, and on top of other areas of communication and cooperation.

The group was established as a forum for dialogue over the Iran nuclear issues as well as regional security and “strategic areas of mutual interest,” the senior administration official said. 

“We don’t see eye to eye on every single issue, but there’s a great deal of alignment of both in how we see the challenges presented, particularly by Iran, and how to ensure that we are effectively utilizing the full range of tools at our disposal,” the official added.

U.S. officials are also expected to raise the current state of relations between Israel and the Palestinians, with the senior administration official outlining the administration’s goal of discussions centered on “ensuring calm in Gaza” and “the importance of efforts to dampen potential flash points in the West Bank and Gaza, and take steps to improve the lives of Palestinians.”

— Updated on Oct. 5 at 9:12 a.m.