President Biden promised visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday that Iran would not acquire nuclear weapons as long as he is president.
“My commitment to Israel is iron-clad. It’s real, it’s something that I always say is fundamental and this includes an unwavering commitment to your self-defense,” Biden told Rivlin during statements to the press ahead of their meeting.
“Iran will never get a nuclear weapon on my watch,” Biden pledged.
Biden said he had directed the air strikes earlier this week in Iraq and Syria “targeting sites used by Iranian-backed militia groups responsible for recent attacks on US personnel in Iraq.”
In his comments, Rivlin said that Israel “has no greater friend and ally than the United States of America.”
That friendship and the bonds between the people, he said, “have always been based on the understanding that we share values of democracy and liberalism” even if they don’t see eye-to-eye on everything.
“Because of that, we may from time to time hold discussions on issues on which we do not agree,” Rivlin said. “Your words just now deepen the understanding that we have a great friend in the White House.”
According to a statement from Rivlin’s officer, during the meeting Rivlin emphasized that the Iranian nuclear threat is the “gravest strategic threat faced by the free world and that Iran’s policy, particularly after the recent elections, is dangerous and extremist.”
He also stressed that Israel’s position on the Iranian nuclear deal, is that as it currently stands, it endangers the State of Israel, and Israel’s concern about Iranian military build-up on Israel’s borders, evidenced by Hezbollah arming with precision-guided missiles and it’s help strengthening Hamas’ in Gaza.
Rivlin “spoke at length” about the US commitment to Israel’s national security and the US defense aid package to Israel in the wake of Operation Guardian of the Walls in Gaza, the statement said.
Biden did not try to interfere when Israel retaliated for thousands of Hamas rockets fired from Gaza at Israeli communities in May. But later, there were calls for the US to cut defense funding to Israel.
Rivlin thanked Biden for his “military and diplomatic support” and his “personal involvement” during the 11-day military operation.
Rivlin traveled to the US on Sunday on his last official trip as president at the invitation of Biden. The role of president in Israel is largely ceremonial. He will step down on July 9 when Isaac Herzog will be sworn in as Israel’s 11th president.
Rivlin’s visit follows Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Rome on Sunday and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi’s recent trip to Washington, where he held meetings with senior Defense establishment officials.
The message during all the visits has been clear: Israel opposes the US re-entering the Iranian nuclear deal but wants to keep the friendship with Washington in good standing.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will likely meet with US President Biden in July or August, a spokesperson announced on Monday during Rivlin’s visit.
Bennett said last week that he was aiming for a “no surprises” policy with Washington, a policy that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would limit Israel in security matters. That could include preventing Israel from carrying out a secret attack against Iranian nuclear sites.
Rivlin’s trip was seen as test case for the Bennett-Biden relationship, The Jerusalem Post reported. The Biden administration is determined to re-enter the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). And according to analysts, Bennett wants to be part of that conversation.
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