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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday, 21 Sivan, left for Europe where he will meet with three state leaders and continue efforts to persuade them regrinding the serious threat posed by Iran. NATO’s Chief has just announced that if attacked by Iran, NATO would not come to Israel’s assistance.

Netanyahu is set to meet with leaders from Germany, France and Britain, beginning with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday.

Ahead of his departure, Netanyahu said Monday that archenemy Iran would top his agenda and voiced optimism for the visit. Israel has been a leading critic of the nuclear deal, and more recently, has said it will not allow Iran to establish a permanent military presence in Syria.

“I am now leaving on an important visit to Europe. I will meet with three leaders and I will raise two issues there: Iran and Iran.

First of all, there is the need to continue the pressure on Iran against its nuclear program. I believe that this pressure should be increased. It could be that there is not full agreement on this at the moment, but in my opinion, such an understanding will take shape.

The second issue is blocking Iran’s aggression in the region, especially its attempts to establish a military presence against us in Syria and attack us from there. On this issue I hope to form an agreed-upon policy.

These are meetings with three very important leaders in Europe. I think that it is a good thing that I have a very personal, close and very good connection with them. This is important for the State of Israel.

We will also mark 70 years of friendly relations between Israel and France in very many areas – culture, trade, tourism and – of course – innovation. For this we will have a special event with President Macron.”

Netanyahu unsuccessfully tried to block the landmark deal that which gave Iran relief from crippling sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program when it was negotiated in 2015 under President Barack Obama. The Israeli leader has found a welcome ally in President Donald Trump, who last month withdrew the United States from the deal.

Both the U.S. and Israel hope Trump’s withdrawal can lead all sides into addressing what they say are the deal’s shortcomings — including “sunset” provisions that end restrictions on Iranian nuclear activities, such as enriching uranium, as well as permitting Iran to continue to develop long-range missiles.

Netanyahu says that as the deal expires over the next decade or so, Iran will emerge with the ability to produce a nuclear bomb in a very short time.

In addition to the U.S., the nuclear deal was negotiated by Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China. The remaining members have said they remain committed to the deal. Iran for now also is honoring the agreement, though some top officials have suggested it resume its enrichment activities.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said France will insist on having a dialogue with Iran.

An official in his office said Macron, along with Germany and the U.K., have all been “clear” that they will work with the existing deal, viewing it as the best way to control Iran’s nuclear activity. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under customary briefing guidelines.

Oded Eran, a former Israeli ambassador to the European Union, said Netanyahu is unlikely to change the minds of his counterparts on the necessity for the current agreement.

But he said he may sway them on certain details not included in the deal, such as Iran’s missile development and the expiration of restrictions on nuclear activity.

“There’s no secret that the prime minister wants to completely change the agreement and replace it with an agreement that covers the issues that are missing,” said Eran, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. “I don’t think that he will change the policy, but he will get maybe a commitment to work on the missing points.”

While Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, Israel recently released tens of thousands of seized Iranian nuclear documents that Netanyahu said prove Iran pursued a nuclear bomb in the past. He is likely to discuss this information with the other leaders.

Eran said Netanyahu may make more progress on his other demand — expelling Iranian forces from Syria.

Netanyahu has long identified Iran as Israel’s greatest threat, pointing to its nuclear program, calls for Israel’s destruction and support of anti-Israel militant groups.

Israel fears that as the Syrian civil war winds down, Iran, whose forces and Shiite proxies have backed President Bashar Assad, will turn its focus to Israel.

The Israeli air force is believed to have carried out a number of airstrikes on Iranian positions in Syria. Last month, the bitter enemies openly clashed when Iran fired dozens of rockets at Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, and Israel responded by striking several Iranian targets in Syria.

Eran said he believes the European leaders are receptive to Israeli concerns.

“I think he will reach an understanding on the question of Iran’s deployment in Syria and other activities of Iran in the region,” he said.

The French official said Iranian influence in Syria needs to be addressed, and that France agrees that Iran’s military presence there is a threat to security. The official said Macron would seek to be briefed on Israeli dialogue with Russia — another key Assad backer — about Iran.

Russian officials have signaled in recent days that there may soon be an agreement for Iran to move its forces away from Israel’s border, but there has been no confirmation of a deal.

In addition to discussing the Iranian deal, Netanyahu is likely to hear about European concerns about Israel’s use of live fire in mass Palestinian protests along the Gaza’s border with Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)