BICOM

Iran’s nuclear threat is expected to top the agenda of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s five-day visit to the US and Canada. Netanyahu will meet US President Barak Obama on Monday. Israel is hoping to get a clear answer about Washington’s red lines on the Iranian nuclear programme. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Senate this week that US policy is to prevent Iran from “obtaining nuclear weapons.” Israel seeks more clarity about where exactly Washington draws the line, and what it is willing to do to prevent that line from being crossed. All eyes will be on the post-meeting statement that Netanyahu and Obama are expected to issue, as well as their respective speeches at AIPAC.

The meeting between the two leaders follows a months-long dialogue between the two countries that Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor has described as both an “intimate” and “intensive” conversation “about the purpose of stopping Iran from going nuclear.” As part of that conversation, top American military, intelligence and diplomatic officials have visited Israel. Last week alone saw a visit by White house national security adviser, Thomas Donilon, and the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. In January, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey came to Jerusalem to offer reassuring words about America’s commitment to Israel’s security.

Meanwhile, in Washington this week, Defence Minister Ehud Barak held a series of meetings on the Iranian issue, including with Vice President Joe Biden and Defence Secretary Leon Panetta. After the meeting with Panetta, the Pentagon press secretary George Little said this was the Defence Secretary’s fourth meeting with Barak since he took office in July and that their regular meetings “provide them the opportunity to coordinate very closely with the Israelis on security issues, and we will continue to do so.”