Nuclear Move Stands to Improve U.S.-Israel Ties

WSJ

Israeli officials criticized the Obama administration last week when they thought the U.S. was about to support a United Nations conference on nuclear weapons in the Middle East—with or without Israel’s participation or consent.

But by Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Secretary of State John Kerry and praised the White House for instead blocking the proposed meeting, which might have pressured Israel to disclose its presumed nuclear-arms program.

“The United States kept its commitment to Israel by preventing a Middle East resolution that would single out Israel and ignore its security interests,” said a senior Israeli official briefed on the call, which was confirmed by U.S. officials.

Israel’s diplomatic U-turn over the weekend shined a light on the continued discord in the U.S.-Israel alliance under the leadership of Mr. Netanyahu and President Barack Obama. U.S. officials hope the U.N. episode helps to mend frayed relations between the two allies ahead of a June 30 deadline to conclude talks with Iran over that country’s nuclear program.

The two leaders have publicly feuded over U.S.-led negotiations with Iran that seek to curb its nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions. Mr. Netanyahu repeatedly has said the diplomacy doesn’t go far enough to curb Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and fails to address Iranian-backed militias threatening Israel’s borders.

The Obama administration, meanwhile, has intensified efforts in recent weeks to win support from Israel and Jewish-Americans for the Iran diplomacy, including Mr. Obama’s speech on Friday at a Washington synagogue. Mr. Obama became only the fourth U.S. president to speak at a Jewish house of prayer. Mr. Obama also hosted leaders from Saudi Arabia and other Arab states this month in Washington in a bid to forge a united front toward Iran.

U.S. officials involved in the U.N. debate said they believed the administration’s strong backing of Israel’s position could help address Israeli fears that the White House will accept an accord with Iran that doesn’t ensure Israel’s security. “It…demonstrates that when the president says he’s willing to walk away from a bad deal, he means it,” said a senior U.S. official.

The U.S. government has committed since the 1970s to a policy of backing Israel’s strategic ambiguity over its suspected nuclear arms. Israel is believed to have the Mideast’s only nuclear arsenal, but neither confirms nor denies its existence.

Israeli officials became rattled last week when diplomats at the U.N. started circulating the text of a statement that sought to stage a Mideast disarmament conference as early as December.

Egypt took the lead in pressing for the accelerated meeting, arguing it should go ahead with or without Israel’s consent. Israeli officials feared their country could be mandated to attend the U.N. meeting and pressed to end its policy of ambiguity.

On Thursday night, Israeli officials feared the Obama administration might be preparing to back out of its past pledges not to support a Mideast conference without Israel’s consent. One official in Jerusalem warned the conference posed a long-term threat to Israel’s security.

“Israel is to be dragged to an international conference under U.N. auspices and subjected to the whim of a built-in anti-Israel majority,” said a senior Israeli official.

Obama administration officials said they were perplexed by the Netanyahu government’s panicked statements and sent a senior envoy to Jerusalem to map out the U.S.’s position on the U.N. proceedings.

“We walked the Israelis through this, and told them there was nothing to worry about,” said the senior administration official involved in the discussion. “In the end, we were correct.”

Still, the Obama administration’s blocking of the Mideast conference could come with a cost.

Egypt other Mideast countries charged Washington with protecting Israel and undercutting efforts to rid their region of weapons of mass destruction. Riyadh and Cairo could also press forward with their own nuclear programs in a bid to match the technologies acquired by Israel and Iran, say diplomats.

In a statement, Egypt expressed disappointment in the U.S. move, saying, “This will have consequences in front of the Arab world and public opinion.”