Talking about Iran, for a change
With Netanyahu and Trump set for a get-together, papers look to who won't be in the room but will be at the center of their talks
Like two catty girls whose favorite thing to do when getting together is talk smack about the weird kid in class, it seems when the US and Israel meet — or rather their leaders do — all they want to dish about is Iran, and not their own fetch bilateral relations or peace efforts.
With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, and slated to see US President Donald Trump on Monday, Israeli concerns about Iran are, in the words of Yedioth Ahronoth’s headline, “Back on the table.”
The Yedioth headline refers to Israeli attempts to have Trump roll back the nuclear deal, after having seemingly lost that battle years ago,. That’s seen as Israel’s main beef, though Iranians gaining a foothold in Syria is also on the radar.
It’s the second threat that Israel Hayom leads off with, taking its cue from a statement given by Netanyahu before Shabbat began in New York that Israel “will not tolerate Iran putting its military on our northern border.”
The paper’s front page screams an “exclusive” quote that “the US will not let Iran rule over Syria,” quoting Trump via an unnamed White House source.
Somehow that quote is only mentioned in a tiny sidebar, with the main story quoting this or another unnamed White House source saying that the meeting between the leaders “will further strengthen the long and strong bond between Trump and Netanyahu, and the two will discuss a wide range of issues with an emphasis on Iran. During the meeting the president will reiterate the unshakable commitment between the US and Israel.”
With a bombshell like that it’s clear why the source didn’t want to go on the record and put their name behind it. Haaretz has its own unnamed sources for its main Iran story, which is pretty plainly part of an Israeli campaign to make its case in the media. The story reports that “a western entity” reported Iranian violations of the nuclear deal to the IAEA UN atomic watchdog, which promptly ignored them, according to Israeli officials.
The takeaway for Israel is that the IAEA is not to be trusted when it certifies Iran as keeping to the deal, which is seen as the main argument for Trump not to dismantle it.
“At one point we saw there was no one to talk to,” an Israeli official is quoted saying. “There is a whole list of suspicious sites where the Iranians do not allow inspectors to visit and no one enforces the supervision mechanisms established in the nuclear agreement. There is simply a demonstration of weakness in the IAEA when it comes to Iran. The sense is that Iran allows what it wants, and does not allow what it does not want.”
Inside, the paper mocks the two leaders’ respective nuclear bogeymen with a cartoon of the two talking past each other, just saying over and over again: “Iran Iran Iran,” in the case of Netanyahu, and “North Korea, North Korea, North Korea,” from Trump.
Yedioth makes pretty much the same joke with its cartoon, showing Trump holding a poster of cartoon bomb with “North Korean bomb” written on it and Netanyahu, holding the same thing with “Iran” written on it, asking “You’re stealing my material?”
As for what isn’t being talked about — Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts — Yedioth op-ed columnist Smadar Peri writes that Trump’s bid to meet with Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas separately will do little to kickstart talks.
“You need, Mr. President, to take advantage of the fact that Netanyahu and Abbas will be on your home field at the same time (or adjust their schedules accordingly) and put their heads together face to face in your suite. Netanyahu says he has no problem meeting with Abbas? Take him at his word. Abbas makes almost the same recitation? Yalla, please, stand up and put your hand out to Netanyahu,” she writes.
It’s clear, though, that Peri’s prescription is a pipe dream with peace prospects looking slimmer than ever. But Israelis like living in denial, at least according to Haaretz’s op-ed columnist/curmudgeon Gideon Levy, who sums up the year ahead of Rosh Hashanah by saying that apple is rotten and the honey is actually a jar of sewage.
“From the outside, it looks unbelievable. From the inside, it looks equally unbelievable. Such a bad year disguised as such a good year. The rot has spread at frightening speed, extending to every field, while the exaltation has increased at the same pace. Democracy is being damaged daily, even for Israeli Jews. There have been more and more crazy decrees, yet Israelis say everything is fine,” he writes, pointing to Israel’s high place on an international happiness ranking and more proof that Israelis are living in a dream world. “It would be so good if it wasn’t so bad. There is no other society living in such deep denial. Israel has never lied to itself like it is doing now. Every package tour and Mini Jeep has only intensified the repression and the blindness. It’s a dance of self-deception, a national orgy of distraction. Those suffering don’t count. Distress is hidden, the rot covered up. And the media participates enthusiastically.”