Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he was prepared to accept a scenario in which the US negotiates a fresh nuclear deal with Iran, in a rare comment from a senior government official not rejecting such a multilateral accord out of hand.

“The current US approach of putting the Iran nuclear program back in a box, I’d accept that,” Gantz told Foreign Policy in an interview published Tuesday, employing rhetoric used by the Biden administration to describe the goal of the 2015 nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

While Israeli defense officials not in government have indicated a degree of tolerance for the JCPOA or a negotiated nuclear deal of any kind in the past, that sentiment has not extended to public officials, and Gantz appears to be the most senior cabinet member to reflect it on the record.

However, a spokesperson for the minister later clarified that Gantz does not support an American return to the JCPOA, but rather maintains that Israel would accept some other longer, broader and stronger nuclear agreement.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett assured US President Joe Biden at the White House last month that he would not publicly campaign against Washington’s efforts to coax Iran back to the 2015 accord brokered by former US president Barack Obama and abrogated by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump in 2018, Israeli officials said.

That was a departure from Bennett’s predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, who campaigned aggressively against the JCPOA and even accepted an invitation to address a joint session of Congress where he unsuccessfully lobbied lawmakers against the deal in 2015, aggravating an already growing rift between Israel and the US Democratic Party.

Bennett, however, has also made it clear that he opposes a negotiated nuclear deal and has not publicly stated that its resurrection is something that Israel could live with, as Gantz did in his Tuesday interview.

The defense minister also made clear that he wanted to see a “viable US-led plan B” that includes significant political, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Tehran imposed jointly by the US, Europe, Russia, and China — as well as a credible military threat — if talks in Vienna seeking a US-Iran return to the JCPOA fail to bear fruit.

“We have to connect China in this too, Asia has to play a role,” Gantz said, noting Iran’s growing economic ties with the Far East. “Israel has no ability to lead a real plan B, we can’t put together an international economic sanctions regime. This has to be led by the US.”

“Iran has to fear that the US and its partners are serious,” he added.

Gantz also indicated to Foreign Policy that Israel had its own “plan C” that would involve military action.

“If push comes to shove, we’ll get there,” Gantz said, switching to English to make the point, adding: “We’re not America, but we have our capabilities.”

He went on to warn that if world powers fail to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, it’ll lead to a nuclear arms race.

Israel and the European Union reached an agreement on Wednesday to mutually recognize vaccine certificates, the Foreign Ministry announced, in a move that will allow travelers access to Green Pass programs.

The ministry said work on the agreement would be completed in early October and would give vaccinated Israeli tourists and business people access to the EU Green Pass, allowing entrance to “restaurants, cultural centers, public institutions and more.”

It would also allow Israel to gear up to begin accepting tourists from Europe, the statement said. Furthermore, it will allow Israelis access to other countries’ programs, should they join the initiative in the future.

However, the ministry cautioned that the program does not supersede entry requirements of individual EU nations, like Portugal and Sweden, which currently bar Israeli tourists. It also allows Israel to continue to bar entry to travelers from specific EU countries if it chooses.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid hailed the agreement as “an important step in laying the groundwork for a return to normal with regard to flight and tourism ties between Israel and the EU.”

Israeli travel to Europe has plummeted in recent weeks after the EU removed Israel from a list of nations deemed “epidemiologically safe,” and Portugal and Sweden responded by slapping entry bans on Israelis for all but humanitarian and essential reasons.

Israeli holiday travel to Europe largely stopped due to entry ban fears

Israelis are abandoning plans to travel to Europe in large numbers, amid fears that they could find themselves barred from entry or suddenly required to quarantine upon return home.

Travel agents report many people changing plans and deciding to staycation over the Jewish holidays, after decisions two weeks ago by Portugal and Sweden to bar Israelis except for essential and humanitarian needs raised worries that other countries will follow suit and holidays would be suddenly disrupted.

Travelers from Israel and the US who are not inoculated against the coronavirus are now only permitted entry to France if they can prove an essential reason for making the trip and can present a negative test before traveling. And they will need to quarantine for seven days upon arrival.

Several other EU countries are barring non-vaccinated Israelis.