(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) The New York Times on Friday revealed the details of a compensation package Israel is set to receive from the United States after world powers and Iran agreed to a historic nuclear agreement in early July.
Laid out in a letter dated August 19 to US Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the president promised to increase American military aid for Israel in developing new anti-missile systems and tunnel detection technologies.
"Our governments should identify ways to accelerate the ongoing collaborative research and development for tunnel detection and mapping technologies to provide Israel new capabilities to detect and destroy tunnels because they could be used to threaten Israeli civilians," Obama stated in writing.
The Obama administration also promised to increase cooperation with Israel and its Arab neighbors to help fight the Islamic Republic's influence in the region, specifically Tehran's funding of the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"My administration is prepared to enhance the already intensive joint efforts underway to identify and counter the range of shared threats we face in the region, as well as increase missile defense funding so that Israel and the United States can accelerate the co-development of the Arrow-3 and David's Sling missile defense systems," Obama added.
Obama also emphasized Israel's new, unprecedented access to American weaponry, giving the Jewish State a strategic military advantage over its neighbors while stressing that if Iran does not live up to its commitments, force will not be off the table.
While Israel has "unparalleled access to some of the most advanced military equipment in the world, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which will be delivered in 2016," assured Obama, he added "all of the options available to the United States - including the military option - will remain available through the life of the deal and beyond."
As it stands now, 26 Senate Democrats have declared their support for the accord, and five others are leaning toward supporting it. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult for opponents of the deal in the Senate to find the 67 votes needed to override a veto, according to The New York Times.
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