Biden Assures Israeli President: Iran Will Not Obtain Nuclear Weapons

Joe Biden assured the President of Israel during their meeting that Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons during his presidency. Biden will soon meet with Naftali Bennett, Israel’s new prime minister.

Joe Biden, President of the United States, assured Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel, during their Monday, June 28 meeting at the White House that he will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.

During his conversation with Rivlin, he emphasized: “What I can tell you is that Iran will never obtain nuclear weapons under my watch.” Biden said he is determined to “counter Iran’s destabilizing activities and its support for terrorist forces in the Middle East.”

After meeting with Biden, Rivlin told reporters that he is “very satisfied” with the American president’s remarks about Iran and that Israel and the United States “must cooperate with each other.”

According to Jen Psaki, White House spokesperson, Biden wants to meet “soon” with Naftali Bennett, Israel’s new prime minister. She did not announce a specific date for the meeting.

Naftali Bennett and Israel’s new Foreign Minister succeeded in forming a new coalition government with parties from different political spectrums in mid-June, thus ending Netanyahu’s tenure as prime minister. Bennett announced immediately after taking office that he wants to improve relations with Europe and American Democrats.

Yaair Lapid, Israel’s Foreign Minister, stressed during his Sunday meeting with Anthony Blinken, his American counterpart, that his country has “serious concerns” regarding the possible return of the United States to the JCPOA.

Biden’s meeting with Israel’s current president, who will leave office on July 9, came one day after a U.S. air strike on bases of Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria; an attack that was criticized by the U.S. Congress.