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Following Gaza flare-up, Israeli army chief cancels US visit aimed at discussing Iran

Sunday, 25 April 2021 2:41 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 25 April 2021 3:02 PM ]

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi (file photo by Reuters)

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi has canceled his trip to the United States to discuss the ongoing Vienna talks on the revival of Iran nuclear deal due to increasing tensions within the occupied territories.

According to Israel’s daily Haaretz, two other top Israeli generals, Tamir Heyman and Tal Kalman, are set to fly in Kochavi’s place on Sunday evening to Washington to meet with senior US army officials.

Tensions have gone up between the Israeli regime and the Gaza Strip in recent days.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had bombarded the besieged Gaza Strip, targeting an outpost purportedly run by Hamas early in the morning.

It also claimed that the attack was conducted in retaliation for two rounds of rocket attacks fired at Israel throughout the night from Gaza.

Warning sirens sounded in numerous locations across Israeli-occupied...

Also, Israeli forces on Saturday night clashed for the third consecutive night with Palestinian worshipers outside al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.

Israeli officials held an emergency meeting on Saturday over the clashes in Jerusalem al-Quds and Gaza, saying after the meeting that if the tensions in Jerusalem al-Quds persist, Israel is likely to witness deterioration across the occupied territories.

In the meantime, Washington has been involved indirectly in talks in Vienna which aim at reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. The deal was ditched in 2018 by the former US administration in pursuit of a confrontational approach toward the Islamic Republic.

Araqchi: Any diversion in Vienna talks will end Iran’s participation

At the time, Israel strongly supported the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is officially called, and cheered Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” against Tehran.

In recent months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime has been engaged in acts of sabotage and assassination against Iran with the aim of destroying the prospects of a US return to its commitments under the JCPOA, which would include the removal of all illegal and inhumane sanctions Washington has placed on Iran.

The Netanyahu regime’s reckless measures have been condemned by Iran and its regional allies, and strongly criticized by much of the international community and even within the regime.

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