Revealing new details from Rivlin and Biden’s private meeting on Iran and Palestine.
Iran, receiving more arms, and the Palestinian issue was the focus of a private conversation between Israeli president Rivlin and the US president.
President Joe Biden sought to assure Israel that he would not tolerate a nuclear Iran as he met with outgoing Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday amid a major shakeup in Israeli politics and growing angst in Tel Aviv over the U.S. administration’s effort to reenter the Iran nuclear deal.
Biden noted that he had ordered airstrikes a day earlier targeting facilities the U.S. military says were used by Iran-backed militia groups near the border between Iraq and Syria. The rhetoric seemed to underscore that he would remain tough on malign Iran’s activity even as he seeks a diplomatic track to stem Tehran’s nuclear program.
“What I can say to you is that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon on my watch,” Biden said at the White House meeting.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who is handing over the post to his successor, raised the issue of Iran with US President Joe Biden during his farewell visit to the White House, Israeli Channel 12 reported in an exclusive report, quoting an informed Israeli political source.
A political source familiar with the meeting told Israeli television channel 12 that in addition to Joe Biden’s public meeting, he also stressed in a private meeting that he would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, while the Israeli side expressed concern about the withdrawal of US troops from The district announced.
According to the informed source, despite the differences over the emerging nuclear deal, the Israeli president conveyed Tel Aviv’s concern about Iran’s proximity to the Arab countries, especially with the withdrawal of US troops to a vacuum in the region. There is something that Israel is very worried about.
“We want to know exactly what this means,” the Israeli side told Biden, referring to US officials’ statements that “after this agreement, we will see a longer-term, stronger agreement.”
According to the source, the perception of the meeting is that there will be no rush to form an agreement, and at the same time, sanctions against Iran will continue until Iran returns to the nuclear deal.
The meeting also felt a kind of American understanding and alignment regarding freedom of action for Israel’s defensive actions (aggression and airstrikes and sabotage in the region) by Biden.
