In a Hebrew language tweet on Saturday, a senior Iranian security official charged that President Joe Biden had “illegally” threatened Iran during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
During their meeting last week, Biden told Bennett that “if diplomacy fails” in regard to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, “we’re ready to turn to other options.”
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, tweeted shortly after the meeting that “the emphasis on using ‘other options’ [to stymie Iran’s nuclear program] amounts to threatening another country illegally and establishes Iran’s right to respond to ‘other options’.”
It’s unclear why Shamkhani chose to release the tweet in Hebrew.
The tweet appeared to be a response to Israeli reports that the Biden administration is pessimistic about a potential return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
A senior member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s staff told the Times of Israel that the U.S. was willing to listen to Israel’s proposals on managing Iran’s nuclear program, in a stark departure from Obama-era policies which saw Israel left outside of negotiations as the American administration entered into a deal.
According to the insider from Bennett’s team, after months of stalling by Tehran as they continue uranium enrichment in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal, the U.S. is pessimistic about a potential return to compliance with the deal.
Israel’s concerns and proposals were met with “significant attention” from Biden’s team, because “they themselves understand that it may be that we find ourselves in a reality without an agreement, and [even] if there is an agreement, there are holes that must be filled.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said on state-owned TV that Biden was approaching nuclear negotiations from the same perspective as former president Donald Trump.
“The current U.S. administration is no different from the previous one because it demands in different words what Trump demanded from Iran in the nuclear area,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.
While Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, international watchdog groups have warned that the country is enriching uranium at rates that could see it obtain a nuclear weapon in the near future.