Israel’s Former Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon says the Biden administration’s decision on whether to re-enter the JCPOA is the most “crucial” issue for Israel and believes any attempt by the United States to appease the Iranian regime is a “mistake.”
“What President Biden will do regarding the [JCPOA], for us that’s the only issue. We can speak about the Human Rights Council, about the Palestinian issue…we can handle everything, but the crucial point for us will be the decision of the president whether he’s re-entering the agreement as it is or not,” said Ambassador Danon on The Foreign Desk with Lisa Daftari podcast Thursday.
Danon emphasized that he hopes the U.S. will reach out to its key allies in the Middle East prior to making the decision whether or not to rejoin the JCPOA, expressing that there are concerns and first-hand knowledge of “what’s happening on the ground” that must be considered prior to the Biden administration’s decision.
If the U.S. decides to re-enter the Iran deal without any changes, Ambassador Danon anticipates a significant change of environment in the region, with the “mood in the region” transforming from “peace and collaboration” to “how can we acquire more defense systems? How can we get ready for attacks coming from proxies of Iran?”
“I think it’s important for Israel, for the stability of the region, for allies of the U.S., and for the U.S. itself not to try to appease the Iranians. It would be a mistake. Look what happened in the last few years,” said Ambassador Danon, citing Iran’s ballistic missile tests and proxy terrorism throughout the region.
“They are spending $7 billion a year on terrorism. That’s a huge amount of money to promote terrorism, and we see the results in Lebanon, in Syria, in Yemen, in the Gaza Strip. You name it. Wherever you see terrorism in the Middle East, you can find the fingerprints of the Iranian regime.”
Ambassador Danon is confident that regardless of Biden’s decision, strong collaboration will continue with signatories of the Abraham Accords, an initiative that stimulated a remarkable momentum towards reconciliation between Israel and moderate Arab states.
“I would advise President Biden to continue with the momentum, bring more countries to the table, and hopefully we will see more countries recognizing Israel in the near future,” said Ambassador Danon.
