Washington 0
27 March 2022

Speaking alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid maintained that “we have disagreements about a nuclear agreement and its consequences, but open and honest dialogue is part of the strength of our friendship… Israel will do anything we believe is needed to stop the Iranian nuclear program. Anything. From our point of view, the Iranian threat is not theoretical; the Iranians want to destroy Israel”. Blinken asserted that full JCPOA implementation was “the best way to put Iran’s nuclear program back in the box that it was in”, and noted: “whether there’s a JCPOA or not, our commitment to the core principle of Iran never acquiring a nuclear weapon is unwavering”. Blinken further stressed that bilateral “cooperation is essential, because beyond its nuclear efforts, Iran continues to engage in a whole series of destabilizing activities across the region and beyond – indeed, those activities have also multiplied since our withdrawal from the JCPOA – via proxies and by Iran itself… The U.S. will continue to stand up to Iran when it threatens us or when it threatens our allies and partners, and we’ll continue to work with Israel to counter its aggressive behaviour throughout the region”, he added. During his visit, Blinken also met with Israel’s president and prime minister; the latter noted, inter alia, that “we’re concerned about the intention to delist the IRGC”.

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