According to the White House, President Joe Biden assured Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Wednesday that the United States would never permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Washington is being sought after by Tehran for stronger guarantees in order to revive a nuclear agreement with major powers.
Israel is against going back to the 2015 agreement, which put restrictions on Iran’s nuclear weapons programme in exchange for the relaxation of sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, and the UN on Tehran.
To Israel’s pleasure, the deal’s nuclear restrictions were broken by Tehran once former president Donald Trump withdrew from it and reinstituted heavy penalties in 2018. In order to protect Israel, which is Iran’s main adversary in the region, Biden has committed to resurrecting the accord.
In a call where Biden and Lapid also discussed “threats posed by Iran,” the President “underscored US commitment to never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon,” the White House said in a statement.
Also Read: US approves Moderna and Pfizer shots targeting omicron variant of Covid
The statement stated that Biden stressed the significance of finalising talks on Israel and Lebanon’s maritime border.
They “spoke at length about the negotiations on a nuclear agreement and their shared commitment to stopping Iran’s progress towards a nuclear weapon,” according to Lapid’s office in its own readout of the call.
In March, it seemed like the nuclear agreement may be revived. Iranian demands that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) end its investigations into uranium traces found at three unreported sites before the nuclear accord is revived caused indirect discussions between Tehran and Washington to break down.
In July, Biden and Lapid jointly vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, demonstrating their allies’ unity after years of disagreement on how to approach Tehran diplomatically. But Lapid asserted last week that Israel will not be obligated by the 2015 agreement if it is restored.
(with inputs from agencies)
