DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇱 Israel /Energy & Infrastructure

Former Biden adviser Hochstein rejects Lapid's claim Israel blocked a US-Saudi nuclear agreement

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Amos Hochstein rejected Yair Lapid’s claim that Israel previously blocked a proposed US-Saudi nuclear agreement.
  • Hochstein said Washington negotiated directly with Riyadh and that no country prevented the deal from advancing.
  • Lapid has opposed allowing Saudi Arabia to acquire uranium-enrichment capabilities, warning that the agreement could encourage a Middle East nuclear arms race.

Amos Hochstein has rejected Yair Lapid’s claim that Israel once managed to stop a US-Saudi nuclear agreement. Hochstein, a senior adviser in the Biden administration and its lead negotiator on the nuclear element of the proposed deal, said the negotiations took place directly between Washington and Riyadh.

Asked whether Israel had ever blocked a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, Hochstein gave a categorical response: “The easy answer, and the simplest answer, is absolutely not.”

The easy answer, and the simplest answer, is absolutely not.

· Amos HochsteinHochstein denied that Israel had blocked a US-Saudi nuclear agreement.

“We negotiated a comprehensive agreement with the kingdom, and at no time did Israel, or any other country, block that deal,” he said. Hochstein added that Israel could present its interests to Washington, but could not determine US policy.

“Israel can have input, and it could express its interests to the United States, but it cannot block or initiate any American policy,” Hochstein said. “That is done by the United States.”

We negotiated a comprehensive agreement with the kingdom, and at no time did Israel, or any other country, block that deal.

· Amos HochsteinHe described the negotiations as a direct process between Washington and Riyadh.

His comments followed Lapid’s criticism on X of the nuclear agreement submitted to Congress this week. Lapid called it “one of the biggest and most dangerous failures of Israeli foreign policy of all time,” arguing that the Trump administration was pursuing what it viewed as the US interest while the agreement would demonstrate Israel’s declining influence in Washington.

Israel can have input, and it could express its interests to the United States, but it cannot block or initiate any American policy. That is done by the United States.

· Amos HochsteinHochstein rejected the idea that Israel could determine or prevent US foreign policy.

Lapid has warned US officials and members of Congress about the possibility of Saudi Arabia receiving uranium-enrichment capabilities through a civilian nuclear program. In September 2023, during normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia, he said a normalization agreement would be welcome, but not if it came at the price of a regional nuclear arms race.

“A normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia is a welcome development, but not at the price of a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East,” Lapid said. “Strong democracies do not abandon their security interests for the sake of politics. It is dangerous and irresponsible. Israel must not agree to any form of uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia.”

A normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia is a welcome development, but not at the price of a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East. Strong democracies do not abandon their security interests for the sake of politics. It is dangerous and irresponsible. Israel must not agree to any form of uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia.

· Yair LapidLapid stated his opposition to Saudi uranium enrichment during earlier normalization talks.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog