The United States and Israel presented a united front in the face of Iran’s nuclear threat on Thursday during President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, his first stop on a trip to the Middle East.
President Biden’s administration is calling on Israel to coordinate defense capabilities with its Arab neighbors to counter Iran.
President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed a joint statement vowing not to allow Iran to have nuclear weapons.
At a news conference after the signing, Mr. Biden said the United States “will not wait indefinitely” for Iran to return to the nuclear deal.
“We have presented to the leadership of Iran what we are willing to accept for it to return to the nuclear agreement. We are waiting for their response. When we will get it, I am not sure. But we’re not going to wait forever,” said President Biden.
Washington is encouraging Israel to coordinate its defense capabilities with its Arab neighbors, sending a message to Iran.
“The message to Iran is that this is the last chance to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, or the United States will support a regional defense system that is designed largely against it,” said Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US relations. – Israeli at Bar-Ilan University.
In an interview with Israeli television, Mr. Biden said he would use force against Iran as a last resort. Israel has expressed its willingness to deepen engagement with the Arab world.
“We will discuss the establishment of a new security and economic architecture with the countries of the Middle East, after the Abraham Agreements and the achievements of the Negev meeting. We will also discuss the need to revitalize a strong global coalition that will stop the Iranian nuclear program,” said Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
The Abraham Accords of former President Trump’s period normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab countries.
As Arab countries deepen engagement with Israel, fighting continues in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967.
“The Palestinian issue is almost entirely absent from the Abraham Accords. They generally focus on developing regional economic ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors, at the expense of Palestinian sovereignty,” Zaha Hassan of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace told VOA.
President Biden, who will meet with Palestinian leaders on Friday, reiterated his support for the two-state solution, although he acknowledged that it is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
“This solution remains, in my view, the best way to ensure a future in equality, freedom, prosperity and democracy for Israelis and Palestinians.”
Mr. Biden ended the day Wednesday with a visit to the Holocaust Memorial, where he honored the millions of Jews killed in World War II and met with American Holocaust survivors./VOA
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