Following the release of a video by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday claiming that the United States is withholding military aid from Israel, the White House has canceled a high-level U.S.-Israeli meeting on Iran that was scheduled for Thursday, according to two U.S. officials speaking to Axios.
U.S. and Israeli sources reported that senior advisers to President Joe Biden were furious over the video, which prompted U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein to personally deliver a message to Netanyahu in a meeting just hours after the video's release. The White House then decided to take further action by canceling Thursday's meeting.
A U.S. official stated, "This decision underscores that there are consequences for such provocative actions." A senior Israeli official remarked, "The Americans are angry. Bibi's (Netanyahu) video caused significant damage." Some Israeli officials were already on their way to Washington when the meeting was canceled.
Two U.S. officials explained that the meeting was canceled to send a message regarding the video, while a third mentioned that it was postponed instead due to scheduling issues. In the video, Netanyahu stated in English that "it is inconceivable that the administration in recent months has withheld weapons and munitions from Israel." Publicly, the White House expressed confusion.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre indicated that only one shipment of weapons had been stopped since the war began, while billions of dollars' worth of arms flowed without obstruction. She added, "We really don’t know what he is talking about." Privately, Biden's team was furious and shocked by Netanyahu's response, according to one U.S. official.
Hochstein was supposed to meet with Netanyahu on Tuesday during his stop in Israel while returning from Beirut, where he had been attempting to de-escalate the situation at the Israeli-Lebanese border. Upon entering the room, Hochstein informed Netanyahu that the claims in the video were inaccurate and illegitimate, according to two Israeli officials familiar with the meeting.
Furthermore, Biden’s senior advisers decided to cancel the strategic dialogue on Iran, which was to include hours of meetings with officials from the State Department, the Pentagon, and U.S. intelligence agencies, alongside their Israeli counterparts. An Israeli official confirmed that the White House notified Israel of the decision.
Israeli officials say that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is still scheduled to visit Washington early next week.
