TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2020) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held a meeting with US Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams before the prospected change of leadership in Washington, a government source told Sputnik.
"The meeting [between Netanyahu and Abrams] took place," the source said, not specifying what topics were discussed during the meeting.
Earlier, the Axios news portal, citing sources, said that the administration of incumbent US President Donald Trump, together with Israel and the Persian Gulf countries, plans to introduce fresh sanctions on Tehran before Joe Biden is inaugurated as the new US president in January.
According to the portal, Abrams arrived on Sunday in Israel and was also expected to meet with National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, with a sanctions plan reportedly on the agenda.
In May 2018, the US announced its unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which Iran signed back in 2015 with a P5+1 group of countries (the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom plus Germany) and the European Union, and implemented hard-line policies against Tehran.
Under the JCPOA, Iran was given a reprieve from international sanctions in exchange for curbing its nuclear program. Earlier this year, the US tried to campaign for the restoration of international sanctions on Iran, specifically, an extension to the arms embargo, but all of its draft resolutions ended up being rejected.
