Trump to Meet Wednesday With Netanyahu at White House

President Trump will be meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday. The two leaders will be discussing U.S. nuclear negotiations with Iran. Joining me now to discuss these developments is former Ambassador James Jeffrey, Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute, Ambassador, great to have you back with us. So President Trump set to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister at the White House on Wednesday to discuss these negotiations with Iran. What do you see as President Trump's strategy and intent with the Israeli Prime Minister? Thanks for having me on. First of all, President Trump knows that his actions, Israel's, the Biden administration's, other countries in the region over the past two years have decisively defeated Iran and its proxy network. What he's trying to do now is to build on it, to get a comprehensive nuclear agreement that will end forever Iran's nuclear threat. The Iranians are balking. President Trump is going to talk with Netanyahu about what the parameters of some kind of less than perfect deal might be that Netanyahu can live with, but also what the military actions might be if in fact the Iranians do not cooperate, because President Trump, unlike in the past, is using military presence, this moderately calls it, to put the Iranians under pressure. They're balking at this, but this isn't over yet. The president saying that the U.S. had very good talks with Iran, but warned of consequences, as he put it, without a nuclear deal. And they want to make a deal, as they should want to make a deal, you know, the consequences if they don't, they don't make a deal, the consequences are very stable. So we'll see what happens, but they had a very, they had a very good meeting with a very high representative of Iran, and we'll see how it all turns out. You were the ambassador in Iraq, sorry ambassador, you represented the United States in Iraq and Turkey. You know that region very well. What does Iran realistically have to put on the table in these negotiations? Well, first, as I was saying, good meetings is diplomatic language for, we didn't really solve anything, but we didn't throw things at each other. It has no significance. They did not get into substance. What Iran will try to put on the table is some kind of limit to the percent of enrichment. Probably they'll want to go back to 20 percent or even 3.5 percent. They've been enriching at 60 percent, and we believe in some cases clandestinely moving to close to the 90 plus percent you need for nuclear fissile materials. So that's what the Iranians will put on the table. But that's not going to be enough for President Trump, because that's not very different from what President Obama was able to get. Ambassador, what does, you know, complete neutralization of the Iranian regime look like? And it does sound like that's what President Trump is seeking. Well, in terms of the nuclear program, it means no enrichment. In terms of the Iranian regime, it means it's overthrow. President Trump does not have the military capability, short of an invasion with hundreds of thousands of troops, to do that. And that's one thing he has sworn not to do. And I'm absolutely sure he will not do so. Now there's a British human rights organization that's now reporting that Iran's Internet control relies on Chinese-made technology, including facial recognition tools, similar to those used against persecuted groups inside of China. What do we know about Iran's digital surveillance capabilities? And what are the broader implications of the idea that a state should have absolute control over its Internet within its borders? Well, that's exactly what you have in China. China has massive surveillance capabilities over its citizenry. And the Iranians are envious. They want to have the same. And the Chinese, unfortunately, are trying to help them. This is something where American diplomacy with China may be able to help. The Chinese are susceptible to pressure if it doesn't involve their key and core interests. And helping Iran surveil its own population is not a key Chinese interest. Now that region, very fluid, lots of things changing. You're actually going to be attending a hearing tomorrow, which is titled Syria at a Crossroads U.S. Policy Challenges Post-Assad. What are the main challenges that you feel as though Syria is facing right now in a post-Assad environment? And how should the United States be approaching this moment? Syria is the epicenter of Iran's proxy network that we and our allies, the Israelis, the Turks and others, took down across the region, finally with Assad in Syria itself. It was also the center of the Islamic State's Sunni Islamic terrorist movement a decade ago. It's now somewhat under control. What we need to do now is to build up a unified but stable government under the new President al-Shara that works with us in the international community to bring a better life to his people who have suffered terribly under this 14-year war that President Assad led, while also keeping the Iranians out, keeping the Islamic State defeated, and watching closely for anything the Russians, who still have two small bases there, might do. So it's a big agenda. Former Ambassador James Jeffrey, really appreciate you joining us. Thank you.