On the second day of his visit to Israel, U.S. President Joe Biden met Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and the leaders discussed the threat posed by a nuclear-equipped Iran.
The meeting was part of a two-day stop in Israel for Biden, who traveled to the country for the first time as president on Wednesday. During the four-day tour, Biden will also visit with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and the king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
At Thursday's meeting, Biden and Lapid issued a joint declaration that underscored military cooperation and an agreement to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
"We discussed the Iranian threat," Lapid said after the bilateral meeting, according to The Jerusalem Post. "There will be no nuclear Iran.
"This is not only a threat to Israel but to the world, and we discussed some other issues we are going to keep to ourselves."
Biden has previously said that the United States would use military force to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon "as a last resort."
"I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this outcome," Biden said at a joint news conference after the leaders signed the declaration. "And we will continue to work with Israel to counter other threats from Iran throughout the region.
"We must never forget the horrors to which unchecked hatred can lead."
Biden also reminded Lapid and the Israeli people that they have an "ironclad commitment from the United States of America to Israel's security."
"An ironclad commitment," he repeated.
In his remarks, Biden also again pledged total support for Ukraine in the war against Russia and condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Thursday's meeting is part of a daylong series of talks that will also include a summit of leaders from India and the United Arab Emirates as well, known as I2U2. Biden was also expected to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later on Thursday.
Netanyahu could return as prime minister depending on elections this fall after the diverse coalition that brought the moderate Lapid into power fell apart, prompting the Knesset to dissolve.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that Biden's position on the key matters involving Iran and Israeli security will not be affected by whoever is elected to lead Israel.
"One of the key messages that we're sending on this trip, at this time, is that the relationship between the United States and Israelis not about who sits in what chair in Israel or in the United States," Sullivan said according to NBC News.
"It is about a relationship between two countries and two peoples. So, despite the fact that Israel is entering election season, the president can have an equally robust engagement with the Israeli government and the Israeli public as he could if we were not in election season."
Later Thursday, Biden was scheduled to meet with U.S. athletes and attend the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games at Teddy Stadium.
On Friday, Biden is scheduled to speak at Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem before traveling to Bethlehem in the West Bank for a meeting with Abbas at the Muqataa Presidential Compound.
Biden has promoted a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but most Palestinian leaders have rejected the idea.
After meeting with Abbas on Friday, Biden will travel to Saudi Arabia and participate in a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt.
In Saudi Arabia, Biden will also meet personally with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his father King Salman. The U.S. president has been criticized for planning the Saudi trip due to the 2018 killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence believes was ordered by the crown prince. During his campaign for president, Biden called both the crown prince and King Salman "pariahs."
This article has been adapted from its original source.
