Liberman's Visit to Washington to Discuss Iran with US Officials

Avigdor Liberman, Israel's Defense Minister, will travel to Washington on Wednesday, May 5, to discuss Iran's "expansion" in the Middle East with American officials. According to AFP, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has stated that Liberman will meet with Defense Secretary James Mattis, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and several members of the US Senate during this trip. The statement also mentioned that the discussions will focus on close security coordination between Israeli and American defense entities in response to negative developments stemming from Iran's presence in the Middle East, particularly emphasizing Syria and other security concerns. Liberman's visit comes ahead of the May 22 deadline set by US President Donald Trump regarding the future of the nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA. Trump criticized the JCPOA again during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, stating that the agreement should "never have happened." Meanwhile, Macron indicated that France is ready to work with the US to reach a new agreement with Iran that addresses existing concerns regarding the Islamic Republic's activities and actions. Stopping Iran's ballistic missile activities and containing Iran in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon are key points in Macron's proposed plan. Israeli officials express concern over Iran's military presence in Syria. In a radio interview on Sunday, Liberman stated that "all of Iran's military infrastructure in Syria has been created to target Israel." In response to remarks made by Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, Liberman said, "Those who threaten Israel will pay the price." According to Iranian media, Salami stated before Friday prayers in Tehran that in Iran, "fingers are on the trigger and missiles are ready to fire," and that Israel is "very vulnerable and lacks depth and backing," implying that Israelis "live in the mouth of the dragon... and have nowhere to fall but into the sea." Israel has claimed that Iran directly entered the confrontation with Israel for the first time by sending a combat drone into its airspace from Syria on February 10, which was destroyed a minute and a half after breaching Israeli airspace, leading to severe attacks against "Iranian and Syrian targets" in Syria on the same day. However, after an attack by unidentified warplanes on the T-4 base on April 9, which killed at least seven Iranian military personnel, and Russia attributed this attack to Israel, several Iranian officials stated that "this crime will definitely not go unanswered."