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.