Antony Blinken
“If [the sanctions] are not inconsistent with the JCPOA, they will remain unless and until Iran’s behavior changes,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“It remains unclear whether Iran is willing and prepared to do what it needs to do come back into compliance,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The defense minister shares Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Benjamin’s grave concern over the emerging Iran nuclear deal, though believes that strategic dialogue, as opposed to a more defiant posture, is the way forward with Israel’s greatest ally.
On the heels of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the region, Mideast experts say America is misreading the situation in the West Bank and Gaza, and using smoke and mirrors as it works to appease Iran and placate Israel.
The Gulf state has long supplied Hamas with money and certain goods.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar assured that humanitarian funds would not go to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, its military wing.
Whether the Biden administration can accomplish its goal of helping rebuild Gaza after the latest conflict while bypassing Hamas is highly unlikely, according to experts on the region.
During their joint press conference in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had discussed the Iranian threat with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and expressed hope that the United States “will not go back to the old JCPOA.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that in total, America will provide $360 million in support for the Palestinians and that America will “work with partners to ensure that Hamas does not benefit from these reconstruction efforts.”
The Biden administration believes that to prevent a return to violence, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas must be used “to address a larger set of underlying issues and challenges,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, starting with the “grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza.
He leaves at the behest of U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss follow-up efforts to consolidate the ceasefire and reduce the risk of the conflict reigniting in the coming months.
Michael Ratney served as consul general in Jerusalem under former President Barack Obama, and later, as a special envoy to Syria.
