Obama offers upgrade package for IDF

US President Obama offered Prime Minister Netanyahu to begin immediate talks on upgrading the offensive and defensive capabilities of the IDF, a senior US official tells Haaretz.

According to the official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, the offer apparently comes as compensation to Israel after Western powers signed a nuclear agreement with Iran, a deal to which the Jewish state was vehemently opposed.

According to Haaretz, Obama had placed the proposal to Netanyahu yesterday, after originally raising the matter in April. Netanyahu has so far refrained from accepting the US offer so as not to imply that Israel had come to terms with the Iranian nuclear deal.

Obama further told Netanyahu that Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter would arrive in Israel next week to discuss the offer. It is still unclear whether Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ya’alon will agree to the proposal.