US, Israel Sign Joint Anti-Iran Nuclear Pledge

JUL 14 2022·Updated DEC 26 2022

Story

Image credit: Reuters [via The Daily Mail]

The Facts

During his trip to Israel and other Middle Eastern states, US Pres. Joe Biden and Israeli PM Yair Lapid on Thurs. signed a joint pledge, known as the "Jerusalem Declaration," to deny Iran nuclear weapons.
Reuters
This comes as, on Wed., Biden said on Israeli TV that he was open to using force to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. He clarified the next day that he still prefered diplomacy.
Daily Mail
The pledge also promises to broaden and build upon the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and a number of Arab states and was initiated by Trump in 2020.
FOX News
The statement says that the US "stresses that integral to this pledge is the commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome."
Reuters
Biden will travel from Israel to Saudi Arabia on Fri., where he will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Though he said he has always been a proponent of human rights, he stopped short of saying he would bring up the killing of Jamal Khashoggi with the Crown Prince.
NPR
Biden's trip to the Middle East comes as oil prices have skyrocketed and the US approaches a nuclear deal with Iran, as the Biden admin. wants to extricate the US from the region while undoing the Trump era policy of reneging on the 2015 deal.
FOX News

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The Spin

Republican narrative

Words and diplomacy aren't enough to stop Iran. The Abraham Accords, which were championed by Trump, have been a groundbreaking success in creating peace in the Middle East and containing Iran. Biden's naive desire for a nuclear deal with Islamic Republic risks endangering Israel's security and the US's relationship with its Gulf allies.

FOX News

Democratic narrative

Any threat currently posed by Iran would be far worse should it obtain a nuclear weapon. Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 agreement only made that possibility more likely. Making concessions and pursuing diplomacy are necessary in the interests of wider national security.

Independent