Israel and US to work together to prevent nuclear Iran

JERUSALEM, March 27 Reuters-Israel and the United States will cooperate in preventing a nuclear-armed Iran despite disagreements they have over an emerging nuclear deal, Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid said on Sunday.   

“We have disagreements about a nuclear agreement and its consequences, but open and honest dialogue is part of the strength of our friendship,” Lapid said during a press conference in Jerusalem.  

Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to reassure Israeli and Arab partners convening for a rare summit in Israel on Sunday that Washington would continue to counter any Iranian threat even as he promoted nuclear diplomacy with Tehran.  

The issue is likely to dominate the 2-day summit which will include foreign ministers from three Arab states that normalized ties with Israel even as peacemaking with the Palestinians remains stalled.   

Blinken’s visit comes as some U.S. allies in the region question President Joe Biden administration’s commitment and brace for fallout from an Iranian nuclear deal and the Ukrainian crisis.  

The nuclear talks had been close to an agreement several weeks ago until Russia made last-minute demands of the United States, insisting that sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine should not affect its trade with Iran.   Restoring a 2015 nuclear deal “is the best way to put Iran’s nuclear programme back in to the box it was in”, Blinken said.  

But whether or not that happens, “our commitment to the core principle of Iran never acquiring a nuclear weapon is unwavering,” he said alongside Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid.