Blinken: New options on the table in face of Iran nuclear threat

“We are prepared to turn to other options if Iran doesn’t change course, and these consultations with our allies and partners are part of it,” said Blinken.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

American Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid discussed the Iranian nuclear threat during talks in Washington this week, with the U.S. top diplomat telling the media that “other options” are on the table if the Islamic Republic doesn’t agree to curb its nuclear program in the near future.

At a news conference after a trilateral meeting that included Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, Blinken expressed that while the U.S. prefers to mitigate the threat via diplomacy, patience is wearing thin after repeated stalling from Iran.

“Time is running short,” Blinken said. “We are prepared to turn to other options if Iran doesn’t change course, and these consultations with our allies and partners are part of it.”

“We will look at every option to deal with the challenge posed by Iran. And we continue to believe that diplomacy is the most effective way to do that. But it takes two to engage in diplomacy, and we have not seen from Iran a willingness to do that at this point.”

While Blinken refused to name a specific timeframe in which the talks must progress in order to avoid non-diplomatic intervention, Lapid said that the time has come for the world to take definitive action to stop Iran’s nuclear development.

“There are moments when nations must use force to protect the world from evil,” Lapid said.

“If a terror regime is going to acquire a nuclear weapon, we must act. We must make clear that the civilized world won’t allow it. If the Iranians don’t believe the world is serious about stopping them, they will race to the bomb.”

A senior U.S. official told Channel 12 that the two men also discussed the potential reopening of an American consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem, which had been closed by former president Donald Trump.

The move “could have significant political ramifications for the Israeli government,” the official quoted Lapid as telling Blinken.

Such a decision could potentially rock the eclectic eight-party coalition currently in power, which spans the range from Islamist to liberal and right-wing.