Former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro has been appointed by the State Department as US Special Envoy to Iran Robert Malley's liaison to Israel.
Shapiro was US Ambassador to Israel under former US President Barack Obama from 2011-2017. Shapiro continued to live in Israel following the end of his term and has worked as a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
Walla News reported that Shapiro is expected to focus on coordination with Israel on Iran's aggression throughout the Middle East as well as the nuclear issue.
His appointment follows comments by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during his visit to Washington next week that a "plan B" needs to be formed to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat if the currently stalled talks between Iran and Western powers on the issue remain frozen.
The Israeli government is very concerned about the possible resurrection of the 2015 nuclear deal, which it considers very weak and insufficient. Among the concerns are sunset clauses that lift restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in the coming years.