This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.
President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Wednesday for more than two-and-a-half hours. The meeting occurred days after U.S. and Iranian officials held talks in Oman over Iran’s nuclear program.
After meeting with Netanyahu, Trump wrote on social media, “There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference,” unquote.
In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran after the Iranian government crushed a recent wave of anti-government protests. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says the death toll from the recent protests has risen to 7,000. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported the Pentagon has told a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare to deploy to the Middle East.
To talk about Iran, Israel, Gaza and more, we’re joined by Mouin Rabbani, Middle East analyst, nonresident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies in Doha, Qatar. Rabbani is a contributor to the book Deluge: Gaza and Israel from Crisis to Cataclysm.
Thanks so much for joining us again, Mouin Rabbani. Respond to this meeting. Many were surprised that they didn’t come out. Often they hold a news conference, Netanyahu and Trump, at the White House. It’s been, what, six times that he’s been there since Trump retook office. Talk about the significance of this Iran meeting?
MOUIN RABBANI: Well, it’s significant for several reasons. First of all, Netanyahu was initially scheduled to visit Washington next week, but the beginning of a new round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran set alarm bells ringing in Israel, and he came early. From Israel’s perspective, it is not only against any deal with Iran, it is even against negotiations with Iran. And I think what Netanyahu is seeking to do with this visit is to inject poison pills into the negotiations in order to ensure that they fail, and thereby set the stage for a new armed conflict with Iran.
So far, at least, it doesn’t appear to have worked. But having said that, of course, with this U.S. leader, it’s really impossible to take any statement he says either seriously or literally, because his subsequent actions could either be a very accurate reflection of what he said or the precise opposite. We saw that already in June, when, in the midst of what both sides said were very constructive negotiations, a war was launched against Iran.
AMY GOODMAN: So, what do you make of this launch, this second carrier group? You know, you can’t help but think of Venezuela, when the largest carrier group, the USS Gerald Ford, was sent around Venezuela. The U.S. attacked and then abducted the Venezuelan president. What does it mean that a second launch carrier, in addition to the first, the USS Abraham Lincoln, has been sent to the Middle East?
MOUIN RABBANI: Again, it’s impossible to say. You could interpret this as either preparing for military action or seeking to increase the pressure on Iran in negotiations, which the U.S. would like to result in an agreement. I mean either scenario is equally plausible.
The danger here, since you referred to Venezuela, is that Washington, encouraged by Israel, is looking at Iran as a substantially weakened power. It has taken note of the widespread unrest in Iran last month and has — and, you know, coming straight off the successful abduction of the Venezuelan president, may believe that it’s just going to be one and done and that there can be a limited, clean conflict with Iran. But, of course, Iran is a very different kettle of fish than Venezuela, and Iran has already indicated that should there be a new armed conflict, it will observe neither strategic patience nor restraint or proportionality, as it has in previous rounds.
AMY GOODMAN: In a moment, we’re going to go to the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Jafar Panahi. His co-screenwriter, also nominated for an Oscar, has just been imprisoned in Iran. But I want to quickly ask you about the Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu, announcing Israel is joining Trump’s controversial so-called Board of Peace. Trump initially proposed the board to oversee Gaza, but he now envisions it a much broader mission, that critics say could undermine the U.N. Trump is going to serve as the board’s chair indefinitely and will have veto power over the board’s decisions. He’s asked countries to pay up to $1 billion for a permanent spot on the board. We have 30 seconds.
MOUIN RABBANI: Yeah, it’s the board of Trump. And inviting Netanyahu to join this is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. It’s the height of absurdity. And it’s those who were initially ecstatic and euphoric about the Board of Peace, thinking it would only target the Palestinians in Gaza, who must share in responsibility for everything that’s happening now.
AMY GOODMAN: Mouin Rabbani, Middle East analyst and nonresident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies in Doha, Qatar.
