JERUSALEM (Realist English). Following the talks in Jerusalem, US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid adopted a joint declaration on the US-Israeli strategic partnership.
The Jerusalem Declaration states that “the United States reiterates its steadfast commitment to preserve and strengthen Israel’s capability to deter its enemies and to defend itself by itself against any threat or combination of threats.”
The United States stresses that integral to this pledge is the commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome.
It is noted in the joint document that “The United States further affirms the commitment to work together with other partners to confront Iran’s aggression and destabilizing activities, whether advanced directly or through proxies and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The talks between the leaders of the United States and Israel became the centerpiece of Biden’s 48-hour visit aimed at strengthening the already close relations between the countries.
“The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if they continue to develop their nuclear program the free world will use force. The only way to stop them is to put a credible military threat on the table,” said the Prime Minister of Israel.
In his opinion, Tehran should see that the threat of a force solution to the problem is not «a bluff, but the real thing”.
“The Iranian regime must know that if they continue to deceive the world, they will pay a heavy price.” – added Lapid
The day before, in an interview with Channel 12 of the Israeli television, Biden did not rule out bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities. According to him, it is considered by him as “the last option”.
At the same time, the head of the White House refused to answer a question from host Yonit Levi about whether Israeli leaders had promised not to attack Iran without warning the United States about it.
Biden also said that he would not allow the exclusion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the list of terrorist organizations:
“The United States would not agree to a deal with Iran if it depended on the IRGC’s exclusion from the list of terrorist organizations.”
Israeli officials sought to use Biden’s first visit to the Middle East as president to emphasize that Iran’s nuclear program has gone too far and to urge the Biden administration to nullify efforts to revive the 2015 agreement with Iran to limit the program’s advancement.
Reviving the nuclear deal with Iran brokered by the Obama administration and abandoned by Donald Trump in 2018 was a key priority for Biden when he took office as president. But administration officials are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the chances of bringing Tehran back into compliance with the agreement.
