Israeli PM Naftali Bennett to meet Russia's Putin for first time to discuss 'Iran threat'

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 22 October in Sochi to discuss a range of bilateral, political, security, and economic issues including the Iran threat, the former announced in a statement on Tuesday.  Stressing that the two countries plan to hold dialogue on “important regional issues” for the first time since he assumed the leadership in the Israeli parliament, Bennett stated that he will primarily discuss “the Iranian nuclear program," with the Russian President, his office informed in a statement. 

It is being reported that the Israeli leader is travelling on the invitation of the Russian president and the two counterparts will have a meeting in the seaside resort city, marking a fresh era of diplomacy. Israel and Russia already operate a military hotline to coordinate air force operations over Syria to avoid conflict. Russia, meanwhile, was also part of the negotiations for the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, an arrangement that the ex-US President Donald Trump pulled out of, unilaterally, alleging Iran’s breach of the terms of the historic treaty. As the Biden administration has been in talks to ramp up efforts to revive The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal [JCPOA], Israel plans to hold talks with Russia to discuss the threats arising out of the Iranian territory. 

Israel PM alerts missions worldwide of 'Iranian threat'

Reports of the Israeli leader's expected Russia visit comes just days after the Mideast country warned its missions around the world of a possible Iranian threat. Israeli PM Naftali Bennett-led administration issued a warning to the Israeli diplomats alleging a risk of being targeted by the Islamic Republic in the aftermath of the incident wherein at least three Iran-backed suspects accused of a deadly attack fled Cyprus, Channel 12 reported. Both Israel and Iran continue to trade barbs over a variety of subjects and have often blamed each other for ‘terror attacks’. The Islamic Republic has blatantly accused its adversary of conducting aerial strikes on its marine vessel and its nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, Israel has said that Iran was behind a bombing on its embassy in India. Notably, a similar warning to Israeli citizens was sent previously in March by the country’s National Security Council.