Pence says US to fight Iran nuke threat, wrapping up Israel visit

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US Vice President Mike Pence reiterated to Israeli leaders on Tuesday that the Trump administration plans to pull out of the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal unless the pact is amended.

He noted US efforts to gain support from European allies to address what he described as flawed parts of the agreement, adding that President Donald Trump "has made clear" the US will leave the nuclear deal if that doesn't happen.

"We are sending a signal to our European allies that the time has come for changes in the Iran nuclear deal," Pence said. "Punitive sanctions will be available for many years to come to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and you have our commitment to work closely with our allies around the world to achieve that."

US Vice President Mike Pence (R) shakes hands with Israel President Reuven Rivlin during a formal reception ceremony at the President's residence in Jerusalem, Jan. 23, 2018. /AP Photo

The remarks came as Pence wrapped up his visit to Israel.

On Tuesday, Pence met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and paid respects at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and a visit to the Western Wall. He was to depart the Holy Land later in the day.

Rivlin praised Pence's speech to parliament and his role in pushing for the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"You are a mensch," Rivlin told Pence.

US Vice President Mike Pence visits the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, Jan. 23, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Pence: US embassy to move to Jerusalem next year

The highlight of the vice president's Israel trip was his address to Israel's parliament or Knesset.

Pence met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and announced plans to speed up the timing of the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, moving it from Tel Aviv, by the end of 2019 in a speech to the Israeli parliament on Monday.

Most Israeli parliamentarians enthusiastically applauded Pence's reiteration: "Jerusalem is Israel's capital" and responded with standing ovations to his descriptions of close Israel-US ties.

During Pence's speech to Knesset on Monday, several Arab lawmakers shouted and raised signs that said, "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine" before they were forcibly removed from the plenum.

US Vice President Mike Pence shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of his address to the Knesset, Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem, Jan. 22, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Did the US cancel itself out as a peace broker?

Pence was in Israel for a two-day visit, part of a Middle East tour that included stops in Egypt and Jordan. This is the first Israel visit by a senior US official since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December.

More than a month later, the fallout from that announcement is ongoing in the region and beyond… protesters on the streets, regional leaders holding urgent meetings and summits to reach a consensus on the announcement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas garnering EU support for a Palestinian state.

Palestinians claim Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Following Trump's Jerusalem announcement, President Abbas shut out the US administration as a peace broker between Israelis and Palestinians, saying the US is not neutral.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 22, 2018. /Reuters Photo

'Timing of Trump peace plan depends on Palestinians'

In his address to parliamentarians, Pence urged Palestinian leaders to come back to the peace negotiations table. But he didn't offer anything enticing, at least not publicly.

As he delivered his address, the mood outside Damascus Gate in Palestinian East Jerusalem was subdued. Locals said they resent the US administration's brush-aside of their interests. "Pence is not welcome in Palestine," they said.

Pence said on Tuesday the timing of a long-awaited US Middle East peace initiative depends on the return of Palestinians to negotiations.

"The White House has been working with our partners in the region to see if we can develop a framework for peace," Pence told Reuters in an interview in Jerusalem on the last leg of his three-day Middle East trip. "It all just depends now on when the Palestinians are going to come back to the table."

Jewish worshipers draped in prayer shawls performing the annual Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, Sept. 30, 2015. /AFP Photo‍

Palestinian leaders have assailed the Jerusalem move and refused to meet with Pence. Abbas snubbed the vice president by overlapping with Pence in Jordan during the weekend but not meeting with him.

The Palestinians have pre-emptively rejected any peace proposal floated by the Trump administration amid concerns it would fall far below their hopes for an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, lands captured by Israel in the 1967 war.

Abbas' ruling Fatah party called for a general strike on Tuesday to protest Pence's visit and Trump's recognition of Jerusalem. The strike is meant to include shops, public transportation, banks and most of the public sector aside from schools and hospitals.

Fatah official Jamal Muheisen told the Voice of Palestine that the strike marks "the beginning of our popular peaceful struggle" against the Jerusalem move.

Jerusalem's status has been a central issue in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump's announcement in December declaring Jerusalem to be Israel's capital has created reverberations through the region and countered decades of US foreign policy and international consensus that Jerusalem's status should be decided in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Pence again argued that the president's decision would help move the peace process along.

"President Trump truly believes that the decision the United States has made to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, we believe, will set the table for the opportunity to move forward in meaningful negotiations to achieve a lasting peace," he said.

Rivlin responded in an Arabic expression, "Inshallah," adding that it meant "with God's help."

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