The United States and Israel pledged on Thursday to work together to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, with Washington saying it is willing to use all capabilities to secure that goal.
The matter was one of the most anticipated of Joe Biden’s first trip to the Middle East as president and was detailed in a joint statement by the American and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, released by the White House.
“The US further states that it will work together with other partners to address Iran’s aggression and destabilizing activities, including those carried out through terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” the document reads.
In 2015, Iran signed an international agreement limiting nuclear projects with the potential to make bombs in exchange for sanctions relief. In 2018, however, then-US President Donald Trump fulfilled a campaign promise and withdrew the country from the pact.
“The only thing worse than the Iran that exists today would be a nuclear-armed Iran; if we can get back to the deal, we can control that,” Biden told a TV channel on Wednesday, his first day in the country.
Still in the agreement signed on Thursday, the US and Israel say they will work to “fight efforts to delegitimize Israel”. They claim that they will do so in any international forums and name the UN and the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague. Tel Aviv has repeatedly criticized the manifestations of these bodies against the way the State deals with the Palestinian issue.
