US, Israel leaders vow to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons

Middle East, News, US September 1, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. President Joe Biden held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on August 31. The two leaders spoke about different issues including the revival of the Iran nuclear deal.

Biden reassured Lapid that despite the U.S.’s effort to revive the Iran nuclear deal back to its 2015 form, there is no possibility that Iran would be allowed to have nuclear weapons.

The office of the Israeli Prime Minister released a formal statement about the call between President Biden and Prime Minister Lapid. The statement read, “Prime Minister Lapid and President Biden spoke at length about the negotiations on a nuclear agreement, and their shared commitment to stopping Iran’s progress towards a nuclear weapon.”

The White House also released a similar statement that echoed the same remarks stating that “The President underscored U.S. commitment to never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”

Israel had always been vocal against the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). To Israel’s delight, former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the deal to impose harsh sanctions on Iran.

Since the U.S. has pulled out of the deal, Iran’s nuclear program has been progressing rapidly. The revival of Iran’s nuclear deal seemed possible in March this year, however, the talks came to a halt when Iran conditioned any further talks with the removal of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list.

Despite being one of the four countries that never signed the treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Iran denies seeking weapons of mass destruction through its nuclear program. The country has repeatedly stated that its nuclear program is aimed to be used for peaceful purposes. However, Tel Aviv raises frequent concerns about Iran’s intentions to develop nuclear weapons to be used against Israel.

Iranian missile being fired during a military exercise (Image Credit: AlarabiaNews) — *^{Iranian missile being fired during a military exercise. (Image Credit: AlarabiaNews)}*

The call between Biden and Lapid was made to address Israel’s concerns about the revival of Iran’s nuclear deal. During his trip to Washington last week, Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz told U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan that “Israel opposes the nuclear agreement, as was presented to relevant parties.”

Apart from addressing the issue of the Iran nuclear deal, the White House statement on the Biden-Lapid call also stated that the two leaders spoke about “the importance of concluding the maritime boundary negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in the coming weeks.” The statement did not mention anything about the developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict.