U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid pledged on Thursday to deny Iran nuclear weapons, a show of unity by allies long divided over diplomacy with Tehran.
The undertaking, part of a "Jerusalem Declaration" crowning Biden's first visit to Israel as president, followed his telling a local TV station that he was open to "last resort" use of force against Iran - an apparent move toward accommodating Israel's calls for a "credible military threat" by world powers.
Washington and Israel have separately made veiled statements about possible preemptive war with Iran - which denies seeking nuclear arms - for years. Whether they have the capabilities or will to deliver on this has been subject to debate, however.
Thursday's statement, released to the media ahead of a formal signing ceremony, reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel's regional military edge and ability "to defend itself by itself".
"The United States stresses that integral to this pledge is the commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome," the statement added.
There was no immediate comment from Tehran.
In 2015, it signed an international deal capping Iranian nuclear projects with bomb-making potential. In 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump quit the pact, deeming it insufficient, a withdrawal welcomed by Israel.
Iran has since ramped up some nuclear activities, putting a ticking clock on world powers' bid to return to a deal in Vienna talks. Israel now says it would support a new deal with tougher provisions. Iran has baulked at submitting to further curbs.
"The only thing worse than the Iran which exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons and if we can return to the deal, we can hold them tight," Biden told Israeli TV on Wednesday.
0 Comments