Netanyahu urges Biden to threaten Iran with more economic sanctions or joint military action

July 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –

US President Joe Biden has had a brief meeting in Jerusalem with Israel’s opposition leader, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has urged him to threaten Iran with further economic sanctions or joint military action.

“We need one thing. A credible offensive military option is needed,” he has transferred to the US president, adding that this would be what he would do in the event that he returned as prime minister, as reported by the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel ‘.

The former Israeli prime minister has assured that Biden, whom he has thanked for his “truly firm commitment to Israel”, agreed with that possibility in a meeting that lasted just 20 minutes in Jerusalem.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides accompanied Biden to the meeting, while Netanyahu’s delegation included his chief of staff Tzachi Braverman, his media chief Topaz Luk and the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, according to the newspaper ‘Haaretz’.

These words were spoken after the meeting between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who is also Foreign Minister, with whom he signed a joint declaration on the “strategic partnership” between the United States and Israel in which they reaffirmed the “unbreakable ties” between the two countries.

Biden, along with Lapid, has emphasized that “the United States underlines that an integral part of this commitment is to never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons”, before stressing that “it is prepared to use all elements of its power to achieve this result”.

The United States reaffirms its commitment to work with other partners to confront Iran’s aggression and destabilizing activities, whether advanced directly or through allies and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. said statement.

As ‘The New York Times’ has recalled, the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu goes back four decades. The two had frequent contact when the current US president was a senator and Netanyahu was Israel’s deputy ambassador to Washington.

After returning to Israel, Netanyahu became prime minister in 1996 and lost office three years later. Biden was the only American politician who wrote him a letter after his electoral defeat. During times of heightened friction between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, Biden often spoke out to defuse tensions.

As part of his trip to the region, Biden received Israel’s presidential medal of honor from his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, whom he saw on Wednesday at Ben Gurion International Airport after getting off Air Force One.

“As you know, there is still much work to be done. That is why the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security remains unwavering. Today and in the future, that commitment is not about me or any other American president. It arises of the deep affinity and enduring connection between our peoples,” he said in his speech.

Biden began a tour of the Middle East on Wednesday that will take him for the first time since taking office to Israel and the West Bank, where he plans to reiterate his “strong support” for the two-state solution to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and that It will also include a stopover in Saudi Arabia.