Alon Ushpiz, director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, visited Brussels Nov. 10, meeting with European Commission leaders, representatives of the 27 member states and high officials in NATO, including Secretary-General of the European Union External Action Service Stefano Sannino and Secretary-General of the European Parliament Klaus Welle.

Ushpiz was following up on the July 12 visit there by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who participated as guest at the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union. Both visits were designed to relaunch and reshape relations between Israel and the European Union in general, but also to advocate in particular for the Israeli position on talks with Iran. This was true especially for the meetings of Ushpiz in Brussels, in view of the upcoming Nov. 29 convening of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors and resumption of negotiations with Iran for a possible new nuclear deal. A statement by the Foreign Ministry said Ushpiz had told his interlocutors in Brussels that Iran is advancing toward nuclear weapon capabilities every day, and warned that now is the time to stop Iran's nuclear program.

According to Israeli estimates, France is the main engine behind the European input and policies on the Iranian nuclear issue. As such, Jerusalem follows closely on the relevant contacts between Washington and Paris. These include, for instance, a phone call Nov. 13 between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian. Israeli diplomats and other Israeli senior officials are in constant contact with their French counterparts, to explain to them Jerusalem’s stance against a possible new deal with Iran. They are now mostly interested in verifying reports that France is getting closer to the United States in its Iran-talks positions.

Foreign Minister Lapid prides himself on maintaining warm relations with French President Emmanuel Macron. Nevertheless, since nominated to his position, Lapid has visited Washington, Brussels and Rome, but did not go to Paris. Why does Israeli leadership focus its diplomatic attention on Brussels rather than on Paris? Evidently, the NSO affair and ensuing diplomatic and security tensions with France have complicated to some degree at least the political dialogue between the two countries. Both countries advance toward resolving it, but it’s not a done deal yet.