New US-Israel group to focus on Iran’s drone and missile threats

A new US-Israel inter-agency working group will focus on growing threats of UAVs and Precision Guided missiles produced by Iran and provided to its Mid-East proxies, said the White House on Tuesday after a bilateral meeting at the Israeli embassy. They discussed “their serious concerns about advancements in Iran’s nuclear program in recent years. The US updated Israel on the talks in Vienna and emphasized strong U.S. interest in consulting closely with Israel on the nuclear issue going forward,” said the statement. Israel was represented by Ambassador Gilad Erdan, National Security Adviser, Meir Ben Shabbat, and his deputy, Reuven Azar; the US by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Barbara Leaf, Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the NSC, Brett McGurk, and Iran Envoy Rob Malley.

Ambassador Erdan added: “We made our clear opposition to the return to the JCPOA,” he added. “We said that it is a flawed and bad agreement and returning to the same deal makes it less likely to reach a better one in the future. We also made our position clear about maintaining Israel’s freedom of operation in any scenario.”

On other issues, “The US strongly condemned the recent indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel and “affirmed this administration’s continued support for efforts to advance peace between Israelis and Palestinians and a two-state solution to the conflict.”