Donald Trump has moved quickly to recast America’s relationship with Israel and the Middle East, promising “unprecedented commitment” to Israel’s security and pledging to deal with the threat posed by Iran.
On his second full day as President, Mr Trump turned his attention to the world, speaking with his neighbouring leaders in Mexico and Canada and pointedly inviting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Washington within weeks. Mr Trump spoke with Mr Netanyahu and made it clear he was determined to repair relations with Israel and bury its legacy of poor relations with the Obama Administration.
The two leaders discussed what the White House described as “the threats posed by Iran”, adding to speculation the new President may carry out his promise to renegotiate the nuclear agreement with Tehran, which he had described on the campaign trail as “a really, really bad deal”.
“The President and the Prime Minister agreed to continue to closely consult on a range of regional issues, including addressing the threats posed by Iran,” the White House said.
Before the call, Mr Netanyahu tweeted: “Stopping the Iranian threat, and the threat reflected in the bad nuclear agreement with Iran, continues to be a supreme goal of Israel.”
But Mr Trump’s pick for Defence Secretary, former General James Mattis, has said the US should respect the nuclear agreement — where Iran has curbed its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions — even though it was a bad deal.
Read the full article by Cameron Stewart at The Australian.