Biden to Israel: No nuclear weapon for Iran on my watch
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United States President Joe Biden (at right) at a meeting on Monday with visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in the Oval Office of the White House, where Mr Biden said his commitment to Israel is iron-clad.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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WASHINGTON • United States President Joe Biden, in a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, said his commitment to Israel is "iron-clad" and he looks forward to meeting new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett soon.
Mr Biden, in his first meeting as president with a top Israeli official, also said Iran would not come to possess a nuclear weapon during his time in office.
"My commitment to Israel is... iron-clad," he told Mr Rivlin at the start of their meeting in the Oval Office on Monday.
"What I can say to you is that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon on my watch."
The meeting took place just weeks after Mr Bennett took over as Israel's new prime minister, replacing Mr Benjamin Netanyahu.
US officials are working on setting up a meeting between Mr Biden and Mr Bennett in the coming weeks.
"He's going to invite the Prime Minister of Israel in the very next days in order to find a way to go forward and to exchange ideas," Mr Rivlin said of the American President after their meeting.
The get-together comes amid concerns in Israel and Arab capitals about US efforts to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal because of fears that a resumption of the accord may eventually allow Teheran to acquire atomic weapons that would leave them vulnerable to Iranian intimidation or military threat.
US attempts to revive the Iran nuclear deal, after then President Donald Trump abandoned it in 2018, have been slow to make progress. Teheran has insisted that the US lift all economic sanctions.
A source familiar with the Biden-Rivlin meeting said Mr Biden was expected to tell Mr Rivlin that the US and Israel share the same objective, that Iran not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and that Mr Biden would stress US support for Israel's right to defend itself.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss Israel's 11-day war with Gaza. The US has pledged to resupply Israel's Iron Dome defence system, which was heavily used during the Gaza conflict.
Mr Rivlin is to leave office next Wednesday after a seven-year term, with Jewish Agency for Israel chairman Isaac Herzog taking over as Israeli president.
The outgoing President is on his final foreign trip on duty. He will meet officials at the United Nations in New York and congressional lawmakers in Washington.
REUTERS
