U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is in Israel on the first leg of a trip to meet with allies in the region about the international nuclear deal with Iran and the ongoing fight against Islamic State militants.
Carter is meeting Monday with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and will travel to northern Israel to review the situation in the Lebanese border area, “including the threat that Israel faces from Hezbollah,” he told reporters.
He is due to hold talks Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who staunchly opposes the Iran nuclear deal, calling it a “historic mistake.”
Carter said he has no intention of trying to reverse Netanyahu’s position, and that they will discuss regional strategy and the two countries’ capabilities.
“We believe that the nuclear deal promotes the security in the region, the American strategy, and also the defense of Israel,” Carter said. “But as I said, friends can disagree.”
He further said the agreement places “important limitations” on Iran while not limiting what the U.S. or its allies can do to carry out their strategy in the region.
After Israel, the secretary will go to Saudi Arabia, Iran’s main rival in the Middle East, for talks with King Salman and defense chief Mohammad bin Salman. Carter said those meetings will also focus on checking what he called “Iranian aggression” and influence as well as violent extremism carried out by the Islamic State group and other militants.
On Wednesday, Carter is scheduled to travel to Jordan.
The U.S. sends $3 billion in annual military aid to Israel, which signaled Friday it could eventually ask for more. Despite Israel’s opposition to Iran’s accord with the United States and five other world powers, Yaalon suggested that U.S. congressional approval of the Iranian pact is a foregone conclusion and that Israel’s “situation here has changed and must be studied.”
“We will ultimately, of course, have to go and talk about the trade-offs that Israel has coming to it in order to preserve a qualitative edge,” Yaalon said.
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