The presidents of the United States and Israel met at the White House to discuss Iran's nuclear programme "primarily"

Biden and Herzog meet to discuss Iranian crisis and Lebanon maritime deal

photo_camera AP/PATRICK SEMANSKY - President Joe Biden makes his first trip to the Middle East with visits to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog has visited the United States to discuss a number of issues that bind the country to its most important ally. After meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday and President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday, Herzog told reporters that the main issues discussed were related to Iran's nuclear programme, the country's internal crisis and the harsh repression of its citizens, and Tehran's sale of arms to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.
 
Israeli concern over Russia's invasion of Ukraine is paramount, according to the president, claiming that the sale of Iranian arms to Russia is a priority issue because "they are killing innocent Ukrainian citizens". Moreover, after the meeting with Blinken, they announced intelligence cooperation to prove that Iran has been supplying weapons to the Kremlin in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. The Iranian-supplied Shahed-136 drones would be tied to missile and technology restrictions that, despite the breakdown of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, would be in place until October 2023.

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Ukraine's own president, Vlodimir Zelenski, has himself welcomed Israel's rapprochement, saying that 'this is a positive trend in relations with Israel... After a long pause, I see that we are moving forward'. However, Tel Aviv is reluctant to be part of a Washington-led alliance to counter the Russian offensive against Ukrainian forces, even though Herzog himself has expressed concern about Iran's growing role in the Russia-Ukraine war.
 
The internal crisis that Iran has been going through since the death of Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the Iranian authorities on 13 September was another of the issues discussed between Joe Biden and his Israeli counterpart. Both this and the possible - albeit complicated - return to the JCPOA are two issues of concern in Israel. Especially since Isaac Herzog's side does not look favourably on US rapprochement with Iran over the nuclear issue. The Biden administration's push for negotiations would lead to a reduction in the sanctions imposed on the Iranians, which is a source of concern within the Israeli government.

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The US president also took advantage of the meeting with Herzog to congratulate him on the agreement reached with Lebanon to establish maritime borders, which he described as an "extraordinary step forward". Biden added that reaching such an agreement "took persistent and principled diplomacy to achieve". The Israeli president returned the US leader's praise by expressing the sentiments of "friendship, interdependence and the inexhaustible ties between our two countries", and looked forward to "continuing to work together for the well-being of the State of Israel, the United States and the world at large".
 
The meeting comes as both leaders look ahead to a busy few weeks in office. Joe Biden faces mid-term elections while the Israeli people go to the polls for the fifth time in less than four years. In these elections, Benjamin Netanyahu appears as one of the alternatives, and one who has maintained tense relations with the Democratic administrations in the United States. It was Herzog who, elections aside, wanted to stress that "one thing is clear: I think this visit epitomises that our friendship, our strong bond transcends all political differences".

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.

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