Senior U.S. Official's Visit to Israel Aimed at Discussing Nuclear Agreement

Israeli media reported the visit of a senior U.S. Treasury Department official to discuss the nuclear agreement with Iran. Adam Szubin, the sanctions chief at the U.S. Treasury, is set to arrive in Israel on Friday, September 6, for a three-day visit. This is the first visit by a high-ranking U.S. official to Israel since the announcement of the comprehensive nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. According to a statement from the U.S. Treasury, Szubin will emphasize the details of the nuclear agreement with Iran and 'America's commitment to increasing cooperation with Israel in combating terrorism and instability in the region' during discussions with Israeli officials. Szubin is expected to meet with Dori Gold, Director General of the Foreign Ministry, National Security Advisor Yossi Cohen, and Yuval Steinitz, who is responsible for the 'Iran file' in the Israeli government. Szubin has been in charge of sanctions at the Treasury since April 2015. Six weeks after the agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group, Israel continues to strongly oppose it. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu hoped that the U.S. Congress would reject the agreement, but with the increasing number of senators supporting it, Israeli media assess that Netanyahu's request will not be realized. Meanwhile, according to Israeli media, Netanyahu emphasized the 'dangers' posed by a 'bad deal with Iran' during a speech in Milan while visiting Italy on Friday. At the same time, Barack Obama is scheduled to speak to American Jewish organizations on Friday, September 6. This speech will be broadcast to about one hundred institutions and centers of American Jewish activity. The institutions and centers where Obama's speech will be broadcast are the same ones where Netanyahu last month urged all American Jews to take a stand and act against the nuclear agreement with Iran. However, some Jewish figures in America have supported the agreement, although most Democratic politicians who have opposed the agreement so far are also Jewish. The vote in the U.S. Senate on whether to reject or approve the agreement with Iran will take place on September 17. In this context, the support of the pro-Israel lobby for the nuclear agreement is noteworthy, as demonstrations by fundamentalist Jews supporting the nuclear agreement have also occurred, with 340 rabbis urging Congress to support the 'historic agreement' with Iran.