US envoy Nides says Israel’s ‘hands not tied’ if Iran deal signed

US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides says Israel won’t be faced with any US restrictions if it wishes to act against Iran, whether or not a nuclear deal is signed between Tehran and world powers.

“The president… will do whatever he can do to make sure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon… It’s clear we’d like to do it through a diplomatic channel,” Nides tells Channel 12 news.

Regarding the progress of the negotiations on a deal, he says: “The Israelis know very clearly exactly what is going on. I’m not suggesting they necessarily like it always, but there are no secrets here.”

He dodges a direct question on whether Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will be delisted, as he also does in a Channel 13 interview.

Channel 12 asks Nides if the US expects Israel to “sit quietly and not do anything” if a deal is signed.

“Absolutely not. We’ve been very clear about this,” Nides says. “If we have a deal, the Israelis’ hands are not tied. If we don’t have a deal, the Israelis’ hands are certainly not tied.”

“Israel can do and take whatever actions they need to take to protect the state of Israel,” he adds.

Asked about Israel’s efforts to tackle terrorism, Nides says: “We’re not going to tell the government what to do.”

On Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s highlighting of settler violence and settlement expansion during his recent visit, as opposed to Palestinian terrorism, Nides says: “No one likes violence. Period. It doesn’t matter if it’s settler violence, you know, Palestinian violence…”

He says he made clear, in his own confirmation testimony, that the Palestinian Authority’s payments to terrorists and their families must be halted: “Martyr payments… must stop,” he says.

He stresses US support for the two-state solution:, noting: “We can’t lose the vision… (though) we can’t impose anything on anyone.”

Regarding Israel’s policies on Ukraine, Nides says, “We’re very comfortable with what the Israelis are doing vis a vis Ukraine. And as for any mediator role that they can play, we welcome that.”

Reminded that senior State Department official Victoria Nuland warned against Israel being the “last haven” for Vladimir Putin’s dirty money, Nides says: “When we have issues, we express them, as Israel expresses them to us…. I am very comfortable today on the relationship, with what they’re doing with Ukraine.”