Biden pledges Iran 'never acquires nuclear weapon' as he hosts Israel’s Herzog

Meeting with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday, President Joe Biden pledged that Iran will never achieve nuclear weapons, noting that the US commitment to Israel’s security is "ironclad." The president also expressed his love for the State of Israel.

"As I told Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu yesterday, America’s commitment to Israel is firm and is ironclad, and we are committed as well to ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons, so we have a lot to talk about," said Biden. He also called the alliance between the two countries "simply unbreakable." Biden then addressed several joint achievements of the United States and Israel over the last year, including the maritime border agreement between Israel and Lebanon, the opening of a flight route over Saudi skies, and bringing together Israelis and Palestinians at the Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh summits. 

The US president did not address in his opening remarks the judicial overhaul plan advanced by the Netanyahu government, which he and other American officials have criticized over the past few weeks. Opponents of the plan staged on Tuesday a "day of resistance," demonstrating across the country and in front of the American Embassy and blocking some train stations. For the moment, the talks between the sides championed by Herzog have not yielded a compromise. Pro-democracy demonstrators protested in Washington upon Herzog’s arrival. 

Addressing recent tensions between Washington and Israeli government over the judicial overhaul and over Netanyahu’s settlement construction policies, Herzog said, "I was pleased to hear about your conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu in which you focused on our ironclad military and security cooperation, because there are some enemies of ours that sometimes mistake the fact that we may have some differences impacting our unbreakable bond."

Herzog told Biden that while he will be addressing Congress on Wednesday, his heart and soul will be in Israel "in the heated debate that we are going through as a society."

"It is a heated debate, but it is also a virtue and a tribute to the greatness of Israeli democracy," he added. 

After their meeting, Herzog told reporters that Biden loves Israel, seeks peace and is committed to Israel’s security. 

The Israeli president arrived in Washington on Tuesday to meet with President Biden. After his meeting with the president, he is set to meet with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. On Wednesday, he is expected to address a special joint session of the House, marking Israel’s 75th birthday. On Thursday, he is set to meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and leaders of the American Jewish community. 

Israeli media has been reporting on Netanyahu perceiving the invitation of Herzog as means to legitimize avoiding inviting him for a meeting with Biden. Netanyahu took office some seven months ago. The absence of such an invitation to the White House has been seen in Jerusalem as a signal on the part of the Biden administration against the Israeli government’s policies. The phone call between Biden and Netanyahu Monday evening, only hours before Herzog’s departure to the United States, should calm some of these tensions. That being said, it is unclear if Biden intends to meet Netanyahu at the White House or in New York at the margins of the UN General Assembly this fall.