Jun 28, 2021 - World

Biden assures Rivlin he won't allow Iran to go nuclear

Ivana Saric

Biden meets with Reuven Rivlin at the White House — Joe Biden meets with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in the Oval Office on Monday, June 28, 2021. Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Biden assured Israeli President Reuven Rivlin during talks at the White House Monday evening that he won't allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon during his time in office.

Why it matters: The United States' already struggling effort to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was made more complicated by last week's election of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi to the Iranian presidency.

This is also a point of contention between Israel and the U.S., with the former largely opposing the revival of the deal and the former supporting it.

The big picture: During their meeting, Biden reiterated that the U.S.' commitment to Israel and its self defense is "iron-clad" and "unwavering."

Biden added that he was eager to meet newly-elected Prime Minister Naftali Bennett soon and told Rivlin that he supported the normalization agreements between Israel and other countries in the region.
Biden also spoke of last weekend's airstrikes on Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq and Syria, to "underscore that he would remain tough on malign Iran activity," according to AP.

What they're saying: "What I can say to you is that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon on my watch," Biden said.

Rivlin spoke of the friendship and shared values between Israel and the U.S., while acknowledging that the two sometimes disagree.

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Biden assures Rivlin he won't allow Iran to go nuclear

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