Report: Former Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro Joins U.S. Iran Team

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro has joined the State Department’s Iran team and will serve as a senior adviser to U.S. Envoy for Iran Rob Malley, Axios reported on Monday.

Shapiro was stationed in Israel from 2011-2017. He served on the National Security Council under the Obama administration before being tapped for the role of Washington’s envoy to Yerushalayim and was closely involved in crafting the Comprehensive Plan of Action between world powers and Iran in 2015.

Shapiro has since emerged as one of the pivotal Israel policy figures in the Biden administration and is likely to play a key role in the U.S. efforts to stitch together a new nuclear deal with Tehran.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House on Friday to discuss the Iranian threat.

The American President stated that the U.S. is committed to ensuring Iran never develops a nuclear weapon, but noted he prefers to exhaust all diplomatic avenues first.

“We are going to discuss the threat from Iran and our commitment to ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon. We’re putting diplomacy first and seeing where that takes us. But if diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn to other options,” Biden said without elaborating.

Bennett, for his part, stressed that Israel will “never outsource our security. It’s our responsibility to take care of our fate,” he said, and thanked Biden for his support on the matter.