Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi are set to meet this week in Washington with senior White House officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, to discuss Iran and the ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
Dermer and Hanegbi will also discuss with their interlocutors the possibility of a new nuclear deal between the US and Iran. The two men flew from Israel to the United States overnight Sunday, Ynet and Axios reported.
The visit comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday that it was recalling the Israeli negotiation team from Doha after two weeks of mediated talks in Qatar. Netanyahu’s office said the team will return home to “continue consultations in Israel." “We appreciate the efforts of mediators Qatar and Egypt and the efforts of Witkoff to bring about a breakthrough in the talks," the office said.
Ynet cited on Thursday senior Israeli diplomatic sources who insisted that bringing the team home does not mean that the negotiations have collapsed. According to the sources, it means that significant gaps remain between Israel and Hamas as the war nears the two-year mark.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.