Officials: Netanyahu turned down 2013 opportunity to negotiate with Iran
In 2013, the Sultan of Oman offered to open up a secret back channel with Iran, but the prime minister decided against it.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSSultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said al-Said sits during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (not pictured) at the Beit Al Baraka Royal Palace in Muscat, Oman January 14, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS)
Oman offered to broker behind-the-scenes talks between Israel and Iran in 2013, it has been revealed, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down the offer on the advice of his then national security advisor, Yaakov Amidror, who believed that doing so would legitimize secret talks between the US and Iran.Speaking to Channel 13's Barak Ravid, Israeli officials explained that in 2009, Netanyahu banned the Mossad from engaging with the Iranians either directly or indirectly without his approval, a measure which was not put in place for any other nation. However, in early 2013, Israel discovered that the US was holding secret talks with Iran in Muscat, Oman.Amidror told Channel 13 that he lodged a protest with his American counterpart at the time, Susan Rice, telling her that Israel found it insulting that the US thought it wouldn't find out about the back channel. "I was disappointed that the Americans more or less cheated us, and I told them that," Amidror said.In May of the same year, Hassan Rouhani, seen by many as a moderate, won the presidential elections in Iran. The Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said, saw an opportunity to push ahead with the second part of his initiative to champion Israeli-Iranian talks under his auspices.Former officials have told Channel 13 that a few weeks after Rouhani's election, then director of the Mossad, Tamir Pardo, presented Netanyahu with sensitive information from the Sultanate of Oman during their weekly meeting.Pardo told Netanyahu that Qaboos had proposed opening a secret back channel between Israel and Iran, and that doing so would enable both parties to de-escalate tensions.Israel and Oman have a five-decades-long, low-key relationship, and the Omanis have a good reputation for being discreet and effective moderators. Oman further believed that Rouhani's victory presented an opportunity, and that the US-Iran talks could be more successful if bolstered by parallel Israel-Iran talks.The message from Oman to Israel was: “Even if you don’t agree on anything, engagement leads to de-escalation, and non-engagement could lead to war,” officials told Channel 13.However, following his meeting with Pardo, Netanyahu consulted Amidror, who had a different take on the situation. His advice was that it was in Oman's interest to be involved in whatever negotiations were taking place, but that Netanyahu had to consider what was in Israel's best interest. Pardo and other senior Mossad officials thought that the Omanis' offer at least deserved consideration, but Amidror disagreed."The whole purpose of the Omani initiative was to give cover to the Iranians and the Americans who cheated us," he told Channel 13.Netanyahu held a number of meetings with both Pardo and Amidror, but was eventually swayed to Amidror's position. The talks did not go ahead – a position that to this day, Amidror believes was the correct one.The Israeli response to the Omanis was warranted: As long as the Iranian leadership seeks to destroy us, we have got nothing to talk about with them," he said.On the other side, the former officials involved in the discussions still hold that the Omani proposal was genuine, that the Iranians would have participated in good faith, and that a significant opportunity for de-escalation was lost.
