Alongside Israel’s Lapid, Blinken says ‘time running short’ on Iran nuclear diplomacy

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday “time is running short” in terms of an Iranian return to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, but stressed in a joint press conference with Israel’s foreign minister that the U.S. believes “the diplomatic path is the most effective way to ensure” Tehran doesn’t acquire nuclear weapons.

“What we’re seeing from Tehran suggests that they’re not” ready to return to the nuclear deal, Blinken said. According to him, “we’re getting closer to a point where returning to full compliance with the JCPOA will not recapture” the benefits of the nuclear deal, which the U.S. withdrew from in 2018.

Israel’s Yair Lapid said, “Every day that passes, every delay in the negotiations, brings Iran closer to a nuclear bomb. If a terror regime is going to acquire a nuclear weapon, we must act. We must make clear that the civilized world won’t allow it.”

Lapid met his American and Emirati counterparts for a three-way meeting in Washington, a year after Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalized ties in a U.S.-brokered deal.

A bilateral meeting between Lapid and U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken is slated for later on Wednesday.

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Blinken, Lapid and the UAE’s Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met to advance regional economic cooperation and discuss other regional issues.

In a briefing to reporters before the trilateral meeting, U.S. officials reiterated that the Abraham Accords, signed during the Trump presidency, were not a substitute for a two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Abraham Accords were signed by leaders of Israel, the UAE and Bahrain at the White House last September, later followed by Morocco. Sudan also declared its intention to normalize ties with Israel, but a formal agreement has yet to be signed.

The agreements came despite the Palestinians opposition, who felt betrayed by their Arab brethren for cooperating with Israel without first demanding progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.

Reuters contributed to this report.