US vice president expected within a month, apparently to discuss Iran.
By HERB KEINON, APbiden 311(photo credit: AP)
Vice President Joe Biden is expected in Israel within a month for meetings coming fast on the heels of US military chief Adm. Michael Mullen’s visit here on Sunday, in what appears to be an indication of unprecedented cooperation on the Iranian nuclear issue.Biden’s will be the highest level visit to date from the Obama administration. Although there has been talk for months of one by US President Barack Obama, no date has been set.No other details of Biden’s visit were immediately available, aside from it being part of a wider trip to a number of countries in the region.Related articles:Analysis: Red is not always black and whiteHours before PM lands in Moscow, Medvedev calls moratorium 'insufficient'Russia: No reason not to sell S-300 systems to IranMullen warns Iran strike could have 'unintended consequences'In addition to Iran, Biden is also expected to focus on the stalled diplomatic process, amid a flurry of stops here over the past two weeks by high ranking administration officials.On Sunday, Biden said the US had made “significant progress” in addressing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.But former vice president Dick Cheney says he’s not yet persuaded that the Obama administration will do what’s necessary to keep Teheran from getting nuclear weapons.Biden says the US has wide support for further UN sanctions againstIran – and he thinks China, too, will come on board. He also says Iranhas made less progress on the nuclear front than claimed.Cheney says it’s good to keep a military option on the table to “giveany kind of meaning at all to negotiations over sanctions.” Biden wason NBC television’s Meet the Press, while Cheney appeared on ABC’s This Week.
