Israel and the US have agreed to reconvene a joint meeting on Iran in July that was cancelled by the White House last week in the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s video in which he expressed astonishment over the Biden administration’s withholding weapons from Israel, five Israeli and US officials told Axios’ Barak Ravid on Tuesday.
The US-Israel strategic consultative group (SCG), which was formed in 2009 during the Obama administration, is a key forum for US-Israeli discussions about Iran's nuclear program.
The working group is headed by the national security advisers from Israel and the US, and includes representatives from national security, foreign policy and intelligence agencies in both countries.
The forum has not convened since March 2023. Since then, the Iranian nuclear program has significantly escalated, US and Israeli officials say.
Israel’s National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer were in Washington last week for a gathering of the forum, but the gathering was cancelled by the White House, shortly before it was scheduled to take place, in the wake of Netanyahu’s video.
Hanegbi and Dermer instead met only with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Senior Israeli and US officials told Axios that the new date for the meeting hasn't been set, but added it is expected to take place in mid-July, before Netanyahu's planned speech to Congress on July 24.
A senior Israeli delegation headed by Hanegbi and Dermer will travel to Washington for the talks.
The White House declined to comment.