BIBI SABOTEUR ?

Flashpoints worldwide are in abundant supply. 

The Biden administration takes its time. It avoids the trappings of early grotesque operatic gestures which were Trump's hallmark. The Chaplinesque grand game with the world orbit is a thing of the past.

Returning to reliable diplomatic ways is not easy. Problems piled up in the last four years and it is an uphill battle trying to dislodge them from neglect or stalemate. The Blinken touch is being tested in i.a. Taiwan, Ukraine and the Middle East.

The US is trying to bring Iran back to the nuclear agreement that was shelved under the previous administration. The Vienna talks are supposed to give an indication of Tehran's mood. Iran doesn't change, whoever is the White House's occupant. It is basically a malign power.  It can be reigned in but it cannot be confided in for an unforeseeable future. Israel is right in distrusting the Iranians. So are most American allies, by the way, who share an identical scepticism. That Obama was able to rally China and Russia behind his nuclear "quarantaine" was an achievement, which looks almost unthinkable now. 

It was to be expected that Iran--like others--would be curious about the intentions of the Biden administration. The American side is equally interested in a form of renewed diplomatic contact. The new American defense secretary is in the region where he met with the arch rivals the Isreali P.M. and his defense minister.  Almost simultaneously, the Iranian Natanz nuclear facility suffered a total blackout after a massive cyberattack. All fingers point to Israel which is, by the way, rightly concerned about the new centrifuges that are being activated by Tehran.

Questions are asked if the US was informed (and when?) and if PM Netanyahu  might also have another dual purpose on his mind:  distract from his sordid personal affairs and boycott American efforts to convince Iran to reenter the nuclear agreement. The Isreali P.M. is a very cynical politician who can easily evolve into a role of saboteur, as he did before (with Trump's blessings).

Israel under this P.M. is often turning out like one of those dates that turn sour after aperitif.