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Netanyahu, Obama look to move past Iran deal row
By Mike Smith
Jerusalem (AFP) Nov 8, 2015


Iran-EU relations enter key stage: EU parliament chief
Tehran (AFP) Nov 7, 2015 - Relations between Iran and the European Union are at a "determining stage" after Tehran's landmark nuclear deal with world powers in July, European Parliament chief Martin Schulz said on Saturday.

"We are now at the implementation stage of this agreement and at the end of this stage a door can be opened for economic cooperation and positive economic development," he said at a news conference in Tehran with Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani.

The European Union last month announced it had adopted the legal framework to lift its sanctions against Iran, once Tehran has curbed its nuclear activities.

The EU announcement came shortly after President Barack Obama ordered the US government to also take steps towards lifting sanctions on Iran.

The EU and US sanctions have proved very damaging, locking up billions in Iranian assets overseas and starving the oil-dependent economy of crucially needed technology and investment.

Schulz was in Tehran on a one-day visit at the invitation of the Iranian parliament, the first by a head of the European Parliament.

He also said Iran played a "key role" in regional stability, especially in Syria.

He made the same point after meeting President Hassan Rouhani.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is an element of stability in a region full of instability," Schulz said.

"As a result of terrorism in Syria we are facing an influx of refugees in Europe. Right now our main and common goal is fighting Daesh," the Islamic State group (IS), he said.

Iran joined talks with world powers on Syria for the first time in Vienna last month in a drive to end the more than four-year conflict. The Syrian regime and the opposition were not represented.

Both Iran and Russia support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, while Western powers have pushed for the leader to step down.

But on Saturday, Larijani said "reducing critical problems in the region to a person is a strategic mistake".

Russia in late September launched air strikes in Syria. Moscow says its strikes target IS jihadists and other "terrorists", but the opposition accuses Russia of focusing on moderate and Islamist rebels.

"A plan should be devised to create a region free of criminal terrorist movements," Larijani said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama meet Monday to put aside their rocky personal relationship and move past the Iran nuclear deal with multi-billon-dollar talks on defence.

The two have not met since October 2014, and deep disagreement over the July accord between Iran and major world powers provoked bitter exchanges between the traditional allies both before and after it was reached.

Netanyahu has also faced pressure, including from the United States, to renew peace efforts after a wave of violence that began in October raised fears of a new Palestinian uprising.

Obama and Netanyahu are known to have testy personal ties, not least because of the right-wing Israeli premier's courting of Republicans -- the US president's opponents -- including in a speech to Congress in March not coordinated with the White House.

But analysts say the two seem determined to turn the page with a businesslike meeting and signal that the two countries' long-lasting alliance remains unshakeable.

"They will not fall in love with each other," said Zvi Rafiah, a longtime consultant on US affairs and former congressional specialist at Israel's Washington embassy.

However, "I'm sure (Netanyahu) understands exactly the value of this visit and the value of the United States".

The White House has sought to downplay personal feelings, with spokesman Josh Earnest saying they were "not nearly as important as their ability to work together to advance the national security interests of the two countries that they lead".

At the same time, more controversy erupted ahead of the trip over comments from Netanyahu's newly appointed media czar.

- Defence deal -

After his appointment was announced Wednesday, Israeli media dug up past comments from Ran Baratz accusing Obama of anti-semitism and saying US Secretary of State John Kerry's "mental age" was no older than 12.

Netanyahu condemned the statements and said he would meet Baratz after returning from Washington. Kerry spoke with Netanyahu about the comments that his State Department spokesman called "troubling and offensive".

The centrepiece of the meeting is expected to be a new 10-year defence deal, with reports that Israel will seek an increase in the more than $3 billion in US annual military aid it receives.

That aid is in addition to other assistance, such as spending on the Iron Dome missile defence system. Israel is also believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with atomic weapons, although it has never confirmed it.

The new defence spending would be aimed at assuaging Israel over the security risks it says it now faces because of the Iran agreement.

The deal with Tehran seeks to roll back its nuclear programme in exchange for a gradual lifting of sanctions. Netanyahu has called the accord a "stunning, historic mistake" that would not block its regional rival's path to nuclear weapons.

He has also argued that lifting sanctions will allow Iran to further back proxy militants, including Israeli enemies Hezbollah and Hamas.

The new 10-year defence deal will not be finalised during the Obama-Netanyahu summit, and would come into effect only after the current accord expires in 2017.

But the two leaders are expected to discuss commitments that could see Israel getting more than the 33 stealth F-35 fighters already ordered, precision munitions and a chance to buy V-22 Ospreys and other weapons systems.

- Mixed signals -

The defence talks would provide both sides with an obvious way of demonstrating that the alliance remains solid, analysts said.

"The (Obama) administration is actually very keen to show that it is committed to Israel's defence," said Jonathan Rynhold of Israel's Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies.

"It's not just what Netanyahu wants."

Other likely topics include the Syria conflict and the recent Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Beginning in October, a wave of knife, gun and car-ramming attacks targeting Jews swept Israel and the Palestinian territories, along with violent protests, although unrest has waned in recent days.

Obama has previously criticised Netanyahu for sending mixed signals over his commitment to a two-state solution and may press him on the issue.

However, American officials say the president has lost any hope of a major peace accord being reached between the Israelis and Palestinians before he leaves office in January 2017.

Netanyahu arrives in Washington on Sunday and is expected back in Israel Thursday.

Besides meeting Obama, he will receive an award from the rightwing American Enterprise Institute and is expected to meet members of Congress.

He will also speak to the left-leaning Centre for American Progress think tank in what some analysts see as an attempt to improve relations with Democrats.


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