‘Words will not stop them’: Israeli PM tells Biden to get tougher on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday publicly urged President Joe Biden to threaten the use of military force against Iran to deter the development of its nuclear program.

Appearing alongside Biden at a joint news conference in Jerusalem, Lapid told reporters the Iranian regime “must know that if they continue to deceive the world, they will pay a heavy price.”

“Words will not stop them, Mr. President. Diplomacy will not stop them,” Lapid said. “The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if they continue to develop their nuclear program, the free world will use force. The only way to stop them is to put a credible military threat on the table.”

Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been a major subject of Biden’s discussions with Israeli officials during the first leg of his Middle East trip this week. Those conversations are expected to continue when Biden travels to Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Negotiations among Iranian, U.S. and European officials aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement — which then-President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018 — had been stalled since March. But Robert Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, traveled to Qatar last month for a resumption of indirect talks with Tehran.

Israel has long opposed and sought to undermine the 2015 nuclear deal, and diplomacy focused on salvaging it has occasionally provoked outrage from Lapid and other Israeli officials.

Asked about the United States’ efforts to assuage its partners in the Middle East, Biden told reporters at the news conference on Thursday that U.S. officials “mean what we say” in negotiations with Iran.

“[Iranian officials] have an opportunity to accept this agreement that’s been laid down,” Biden said. “If they don’t, we’ve made it absolutely clear: We will not — let me say it again — we will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”

Biden’s remarks came after he told Israel’s Channel 12 TV in an interview that aired on Wednesday that he would use U.S. military force as a “last resort” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Prior to their news conference on Thursday, Biden and Lapid signed a joint declaration committing “never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon” and affirming that the United States “is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome.”

In response, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in a speech on Thursday that Iran “will not accept any insecurity or crisis in the region,” according to Reuters. He also warned that “any mistake” by the United States or its allies “will be met by a harsh and regrettable response from Iran.”

Ahead of his visit to Saudi Arabia, Biden also was asked at the news conference whether he would raise the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi officials.

Biden’s response suggested he would not address the killing specifically with bin Salman. Last February, the Biden administration made public a U.S. intelligence report which found that bin Salman approved the operation that led to Khashoggi’s murder.

“I always bring up human rights,” Biden said on Thursday. “But my position on Khashoggi has been so clear. If anyone doesn’t understand it in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else, then they haven’t been around for a while.”