United States President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid have reiterated their anti-Iran positions in a joint declaration committing to preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The two leaders signed the statement earlier after holding a one-on-one meeting on Thursday morning in West Jerusalem on the second day of Biden’s four-day Middle East tour, followed by a virtual summit with the leaders of India and the United Arab Emirates.
The statement says that the US will use “all elements of national power” available to it to deny Iran the ability to arm itself with nuclear weapons.
The joint declaration also includes a pledge by Washington to continue US military aid to Israel.
A record 10-year $38bn aid package was signed in 2016 under the administration of former US President Barack Obama when Biden was vice president.
Speaking at a news conference following the signing, both Biden and Lapid spoke of their support for the US-Israeli relationship, and the perceived threat from Iran.
The Iranians insist that their nuclear programme is peaceful and that they have no intention of building a nuclear bomb.
Israel is widely believed to have its own nuclear weapons but has never publicly confirmed it.
Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday on his first tour of the region since taking office in 2021.
Arriving on Air Force One at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Biden was warmly greeted by Israeli officials and in a speech, described the US’s connection with the country as “bone-deep”.
Biden in his opening remarks said that no one need to be a Jew to be a Zionist, explaining that The connection between the Israeli and American people is bone deep further stressing that he is proud to say that US relations with Israel are deeper and stronger than they have ever been.
The US leader also reiterated his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but did not mention Palestinians by name.
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