For the politically astute, this question is a no-brainer. The United States is realigning its interests and taking new approaches to its foreign policy. It’s looking to the East—Iran and China—and leaving Europe to deal with new entanglements on its own—Syria, Ukraine, Russia and the lot. Its recent negotiations with Iran are in line with the same policy of containment the previous eleven administrations have pursued. The negotiations would allow the Obama administration to deal with a nearly forty year-old nuclear thorn in America’s side while also minimally assuaging the likes of Saudi Arabia and Israel by taming one more adversary in the Middle East.

These negotiations don’t mean we shouldn’t be skeptical of Iran, which I’m sure the Obama administration is aware of. Iran does still support the likes of Bashar Al-Assad and Hezbollah, both of which are not exactly in America’s good graces. Obama certainly doesn’t seem to have full faith in the Khamenei government, wanting to limit them to basic nuclear fuel production which could, should things decide to take a dastardly turn, produce nuclear weapons in at least a year. He hasn’t been light-handed in signing sanctions into law and has only refrained from rebuking the Iranians further in lieu of the negotiations and their cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

However, I believe that the Obama administration should push through these negotiations, cautiously, but resiliently. As a nuclear Iran is not an option, I think a deal which is crafted and guided by the U.S. is safer. I don’t think that the United States wants another Pakistan, armed both with nuclear weapons and bitter distrust, which is a possibility with or without U.S. sanctions. Negotiations mean more semi-stable relations with the state and a more viable option than several more decades of aggression and proxy violence.

However, the U.S.-Iran dialogue is not only meeting resistance at home. Old allies, such as Saudi Arabia and Israel, are not pleased with the fact that the Obama administration is cozying up to the Iranians. While the Saudi opinion may not hold equal weight, the Israelis are a powerful ally that have a major influence on domestic politics, specifically in Congress. The Israeli government and members of the American right have taken these negotiations to mean that the Obama administration is taking steps to alienate Israel. However, those who assume that the U.S. has been waiting to dump Israel the moment Iran bat its eyelashes over the Atlantic are ignoring generations of enmity between the three.

The most recent rift between the Obama administration and the Israeli government has in fact been caused by Netanyahu’s abrasive political moves. His most recent blatant breaching of diplomatic norms transpired when he accepted John Boehner’s invitation to speak in front of Congress. Netanyahu is looking to consolidate power and support prior to the Israeli elections in March, and he isn’t looking to get this support from Israeli leftists, who may not be so quick to attack these negotiations. Netanyahu’s speech would have been on the threat of a nuclear Iran, while the United States was in the midst of negotiations with the Iranian government. Not only would such a speech, without Obama’s blessing, have undermined the administration on the international stage, it could have unsettled what little stability is slowly being achieved between both countries.

I feel confident in saying that considering these negotiations over the past six years, the United States has neither antagonized nor put Israeli concerns second. After the reemergence of the computer worm Stuxnet, U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies began to seek new targets to slow Iran’s centrifuge and plant recovery process. In April 2013, the Defense Department finalized an arms deal with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that provided missiles, warplanes and troop transports to help them counter any future threat from Iran. More recently in December 2014, the U.S., along with Canada, Palau and Micronesia, opposed a UN resolution calling on Israel to renounce possession of nuclear weapons and put its nuclear facilities under international oversight.

As I see it, this is not a question of the United States choosing between Iran and Israel. It is a matter of realigning foreign policy tactics. These just so happen not to line up with the views and policies of old allies, namely Israel and Saudi Arabia. At this point, the United States should give priority to its own endeavors while also attempting to maintain stability and relations with regional powers.