JERUSALEM (NewsNation) — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday declared they would not allow Iran to become a nuclear power. They parted ways, though, on how to get there.
Biden, in a joint news conference after a one-on-one meeting with the Israeli leader, said he still wants to give diplomacy a chance. Moments earlier, Lapid insisted that words alone won’t thwart Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
While Biden suggested his patience with Iran was running low, he held out hope that Iran can be persuaded to rejoin a dormant deal intended to prevent it from building a nuclear weapon.
“I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this outcome,” Biden said on the second day of a four-day visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia. It’s his first trip to the Middle East as president.
Biden’s emphasis on a diplomatic solution contrasted with Lapid, who said Iran must face a real threat of force before it will agree to give up on its nuclear ambitions.
“Words will not stop them, Mr. President. Diplomacy will not stop them,” Lapid said. “The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if they continue to develop their nuclear program the free world will use force.”
Lapid suggested that he and Biden agreed, despite his tougher rhetoric toward Iran.
“I don’t think there’s a light between us,” he said. “We cannot allow Iran to become nuclear.”
Biden, too, said, “We will not, let me say it again, we will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
He warned that his patience is wearing thin for Iran to rejoin the nuclear deal, a day after saying he’d be willing to use force against Tehran as a last resort. The president said the U.S. had laid out for the Iranian leadership a path to return to the nuclear deal and was still waiting for a response.
“When that will come, I’m not certain,” Biden said. “But we’re not going to wait forever.”
The statement, to be signed in Jerusalem by both leaders later in the day, also reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel’s military superiority in the region, including with future defense grants.
The U.S. president, who is set to travel to Saudi Arabia on Friday, said he also stressed to Lapid the importance of Israel becoming “totally integrated” in the region.
The one-on-one talks Thursday are the centerpiece of a 48-hour visit by Biden aimed at strengthening already tight relations between the U.S and Israel. The leaders issued a joint declaration emphasizing military cooperation and a commitment to keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
In the joint statement, the United States said it is ready to use “all elements of its national power” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
Iran announced last week that it has enriched uranium to 60% purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade quality.
The joint declaration could hold important symbolic importance for Biden’s upcoming meeting with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia as he seeks to strengthen a region-wide alliance against Iran.
Biden, on his first Middle East trip since taking office in early 2021, arrived in Israel on Wednesday and has talks with Israeli leaders on Thursday. He will appear at a joint news conference with Lapid and participate in a virtual summit with India and the United Arab Emirates, a collection of countries called the I2U2. The United Arab Emirates will help finance a $2 billion project supporting agriculture in India.
Biden will meet Palestinian leaders in the occupied West Bank on Friday and hold talks with leaders of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies in Jeddah on Saturday.
Biden faces an uphill battle persuading Iran to rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement that his predecessor, Donald Trump, abandoned in 2018.
Israel during the Trump administration signed on to the Abraham Accords, declarations of diplomatic and economic normalization signed by Israel, Bahrain, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates that were signature foreign policy achievement for the Republican president. For Israel to come to such an agreement with the Saudis, an economic and Islamic epicenter in the Mideast, would be even more significant.
Lapid asked Biden to deliver a message on behalf of Israel to the Arab leaders he’ll meet with in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: “Our hand is outstretched for peace.”
“Your visit to Saudi Arabia is important for Israel and for the region,” Lapid added. “For our security and for the future prosperity of the Middle East.”
The president will visit Saudi Arabia after calling the kingdom a “pariah” nation as a candidate and releasing a U.S. intelligence finding last year that showed the kingdom’s defacto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, likely approved the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based writer.
Biden declined to commit to mentioning Khashoggi’s murder when he meets with the crown prince.
“I always bring up human rights,” Biden said at the news conference. “But my position on Khashoggi has been so clear. If anyone doesn’t understand it, in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else, then they haven’t been around for a while.” He did not reiterate his position.
Thursday’s appearances with the Israeli prime minister could also provide a boost to Lapid, who is serving in an interim capacity until elections in November, Israel’s fifth in less than four years. Lapid’s main opponent is former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the joint appearance with Biden could help burnish his credentials as a statesman and leader.
Biden and Lapid also participated in a virtual summit with India and the United Arab Emirates, a collection of countries called the I2U2. The United Arab Emirates announced it will help finance a $2 billion project supporting agriculture in India.
Biden didn’t mention Israel’s upcoming election during the public portion of Thursday’s meeting with Lapid, but told reporters “we had a good beginning of a long, God willing, relationship.”
Biden met briefly with Netanyahu, with whom he’s had a rocky relationship. Netanyahu is vying to come back to power in the upcoming elections
The president also received Israel’s top civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Honor, from President Isaac Herzog.
Biden also planned to meet with U.S. athletes participating in the Maccabiah Games. Also known as the “Jewish Olympics,” it’s the country’s largest sporting event and is held every four years for Israeli and Jewish athletes from all over the world.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.