“We’re really worried about Iran, because the real center of power is not the new political leaders - it's not Rouhani, it's not Zarif. It's still Revolutionary Guard and the Supreme Leader,” said Israel’s top diplomat at the Saban Forum, a gathering of Israeli and American leaders hosted by the Brookings Institute, Friday in Washington.
Despite disagreements with Washington over the nuclear deal brokered between the P5+1 group of world powers and Iran, Lieberman insisted that Tel Aviv should keep its differences out of the public.
“It’s impossible to conceal the disagreements between us and the Americans on this deal, but it’s unnecessary to discuss those disagreements publicly,” said Lieberman.
- Palestinian-Israeli trust "about zero"
Throwing cold water on hopes for Palestinian-Israeli peace, Lieberman said that trust between the parties is virtually non-existent.
"Today, trust between the two sides is about zero. It's impossible to create peace if you don't have any credibility, if you don't believe to the other side," he said.
Still, Lieberman thanked US Secretary of State John Kerry for his efforts to bring the two sides together.
He added, "Even if you're not able to resolve the conflict, it is very important to manage this conflict, and to maintain these very, very fragile relations. And I really appreciate all of the [efforts] of the Secretary Kerry in order to keep this process alive. Because I really, to speak frankly, I don't believe that it's possible, in the next year, this year, to achieve comprehensive solution, to achieve some breakthrough."
US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry will speak at the Saban Forum Saturday.Israeli Premier Binyamin Netanyahu will speak via videolink Sunday. It is the tenth meeting of the Forum.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
