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Israeli PM meets with President Biden amid heightened tensions in Mideast

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's meeting with President Joe Biden comes in the midst of heightened tensions with its regional archenemy, Iran, and as Israel grapples with a gradual resurgence of hostilities on its southern border with the Gaza Strip. Deeply concerned over a possible revival of the Iran nuclear deal, "Naftali Bennett wants clear answers from the US president," explains Dr. Emmanuel Navon, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Tel Aviv. Especially in light of the fact that "the US administration itself has been admitting recently that it has very low expectations from a new deal with Iran." Further complicating matters, Dr. Navon warns, citing Israeli intelligence, "Iran is a couple of months away from the threshold of obtaining the bomb." And for Dr. Navon, this begets the question: "What would be the point of such an agreement as it would not be able to block Iran's path to the bomb." Amid the turmoil in Afghanistan, Dr. Navon suggests the US should now pursue a pragmatic and 'tranformative' remedy towards their Iran nuclear policy. Somewhat akin to the phoeinx rising from the ashes: from tragedy to triumph. And this stark advice comes equipped with a scathing rebuke of the precipitous US withdrawal from a 20-year war and the Taliban's stunning return to power. "If the United States wants to build it's credibility, and it's deterrence in the region, it should transform the humiliation in Afghanistan into a coherent policy towards Iran."