20th Jul 2015 08:48
TEL AVIV (Alliance News) - US Defence Secretary Ash Carter met with his Israeli counterpart Monday, promising Washington would help its "critical ally" in the Middle East to maintain its qualitative military edge over other hostile states in the region.
Carter met Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon in Tel Aviv, a spokesman said, after which the two would tour Israel's northern border to review firsthand the threats that it faces there.
"I'm not going to change anybody's mind in Israel (on the Iran deal). That's not the purpose of my trip," Carter told reporters on his plane, before landing in Tel Aviv.
"The purpose of my trip is ... to guarantee the security of American interests in the region, and very importantly one of those is the security of Israel," he said, saying the journey "comes at a very important moment" after the historic Iran deal was concluded in Vienna last week.
Countering vocal Israeli criticism of the "bad deal," which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says paves the way for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons after 10 years, Carter insisted it was a "good deal."
He would not answer a question on whether Washington was concerned that Israel would launch air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities on its own, but insisted the military option remained on the table.
"We have a number of things immediately in mind that we're working on with Israel, about their so-called QME, their qualitative military edge, ballistic missile defence, counter-terrorism activities," he said.
After Israel, Carter is to continue to Saudi Arabia and Jordan, in a bid to reassure key Middle Eastern allies on the nuclear deal with Iran.
In Amman, Carter will also discuss the international coalition's fight against the Islamic State (IS).
Saudi Arabia has also raised serious concerns about the potential for a deal to empower its regional rival Iran and Tehran's destabilizing activities in the region, including support for rebels in Yemen and terrorist activities throughout the region.
Netanyahu is expected to lobby US lawmakers, who have 60 days to review the agreement and have already expressed concerns.
Copyright dpa