White House Offers an Increase of Military Support to Israel After Making Deal with Iran
The United States recently made a much-debated deal with Iran along with five other major world powers to lighten sanctions on the country in return for some stringent limitations on Iran’s nuclear program. The agreement has drawn a lot of criticism especially from Israel and its supporters, as Iran has long been known to be a tyrannical nation harboring terrorists with a tenuous relationship with Israel. In the wake of the announcement of the deal, however, President Obama has offered to increase the amount of military aid given to Israel as the deal goes into effect. According to a report from
the New York Times, Obama spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he was prepared to have “intensive discussions” with the Prime Minister and other Israeli representatives about how to boost Israel’s defensive strength.
The newspaper also reported Netanyahu declined to discuss the subject, probably out of a desire to wait and see what the United States Congress says about the Iran deal. Congress has 60 days to review the agreement made with Iran before it goes into effect.
In the past, however, Netanyahu (like most other Israelis and Israel supporters) has been a very staunch critic of any potential deal with Iran, going so far as to call it a “mistake of historic proportions.” Netanyahu also has made it clear that Israel is not bound by any terms of the deal, and says if necessary, Israel could still decide to take military action against Iran. If Iran ever develops a nuclear weapon, there is plenty of reason to believe it could be a significant threat to Israel. Currently, the United States gives Israel approximately $3 billion per year in aid, which the nation mostly uses for military equipment. A new aid agreement could increase that funding to between $4.2 and $4.5 billion per year for up to ten years. Please continue to pray for the people of Israel and for violence in the region to be avoided in the wake of this new deal. Iran is an unpredictable nation, and Israel could be vulnerable in the wake of this deal.