JERUSALEM, July 14 (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid pledged on Thursday to deny nuclear weapons to Iran, a sign of Allied unity long divided by diplomacy with Tehran.
The commitment, which is part of a “Jerusalem Declaration” that crowns Biden’s first visit to Israel as president, followed after he told a local television station that he was open to the use of force. appeal “against Iran, an apparent move to accommodate Israel’s calls for a” credible military threat “from world powers.
Washington and Israel have made separate veiled statements about a possible pre-emptive war with Iran – which denies seeking nuclear weapons – for years. However, whether they have the capabilities or the will to achieve this has been the subject of debate.
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Thursday’s statement, published in the media ahead of a formal signing ceremony, reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel’s regional military advantage and ability to “defend itself.”
“The United States stresses that an integral part of this promise is the commitment to never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon and that it is willing to use all elements of its national power to ensure this result,” the statement added. .
There were no immediate comments from Tehran.
In 2015, it signed an international agreement limiting Iranian nuclear projects with bomb-making potential. In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump abandoned the pact, deeming it insufficient, a welcome withdrawal by Israel.
Since then, Iran has intensified some nuclear activities, putting a watch on the world powers ’bid to return to an agreement on the Vienna talks. Now Israel says it would support a new agreement with tougher provisions. Iran has resisted further restrictions.
“The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons and if we can get back to the deal, we can keep them strong,” Biden told Israeli television on Wednesday.
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid attend a bilateral meeting in Jerusalem on July 14, 2022. REUTERS / Evelyn Hockstein
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EYES ON SAUDI ARABIA
Beyond enhancing the allies ’sense of deterrence and mutual commitment, the power projection of the statement may also offer Biden a boost as it continues into Saudi Arabia on Friday. Riyadh has its own concerns about Iran, and Biden hopes to turn it into a Saudi-Israeli rapprochement under US auspices.
Earlier Thursday, Biden told reporters that he and Lapid had discussed “how important it was, from my perspective, for Israel to be fully integrated into the region.” Lapid, in turn, considered Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia “extremely important to Israel.”
Some Israeli and Arab Gulf officials believe that easing nuclear deal sanctions would provide Iran with much more money to support substitute forces in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. They are also skeptical about whether the Biden administration will do much to counter Iran’s regional activities.
A U.S. official, asked if Thursday’s statement sought to gain time with Israel while Washington continues negotiations with Iran, said: “If Iran wants to sign the agreement that has been negotiated in Vienna, we have made it very clear that we are willing to do that. And at the same time, if they are not, we will continue to increase our sanctions pressure, we will continue to increase Iran’s diplomatic isolation. “
A senior Israeli official described the threat of military action as a means to prevent war.
“(It is a guarantee that diplomatic, economic and legal efforts against Iran will be effective,” Defense Ministry Director General Amir Eshel told Israel’s Kan radio. “Iran has shown everyone that when he is pressed hard he knows how to stop and change his way “.
The Jerusalem Declaration further pledged the United States and Israel to cooperate in defense projects, such as laser interceptors, as well as in civilian technologies.
The United States was open to future defense subsidies to Israel, according to the statement, which reaffirms Washington’s interest in reviving talks on a two-state Israeli-Palestinian solution.
(This story was recreated to remove words other than paragraph 1)
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Written by Dan Williams; Additional report by Jarrett Renshaw and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Howard Goller, Nick Macfie, William Maclean
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