Biden, Lapid vow halt to Iran nuke program

Differences may exist on exactly how to do that

JERUSALEM » President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid stood side by side Thursday and declared they would not allow Iran to become a nuclear power. They parted ways, though, on how to get there.

Biden, in a joint news conference after a one-onone meeting with the Israeli leader, said he still wants to give diplomacy a chance. Moments earlier, Lapid insisted that words alone won’t thwart Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Though Biden suggested his patience with Iran was running low, he held out hope that Iran can be persuaded to rejoin a dormant deal intended to prevent it from building a nuclear weapon.

“I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this outcome,”

Biden said on the second day of a four-day visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia. He also stressed on his first trip to the Middle East as president the importance of furthering ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Hours before Biden was set to become the first U.S. leader to fly directly from Israel to the kingdom, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation announced early today “the decision to open the kingdom’s airspace for all air carriers that meet the requirements of the authority for overflying.”

It signaled the end of its long-standing ban on Israeli airliners overflying its territory — an incremental step toward the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel that builds on the strong but informal ties the erstwhile foes have developed in recent years over their shared concerns about Iran’s growing influence in the region.

Biden’s emphasis on a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear program contrasted with Lapid, who said Iran must face a real threat of force before it will agree to give up on its nuclear ambitions.

“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.”

Lapid suggested he and Biden were in agreement, despite his tougher rhetoric toward Iran.

“I don’t think there’s a light between us,” he said. “We cannot allow Iran to become nuclear.”

Biden, too, said, “We will not, let me say it again, we will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi lashed out at the U.S. and “its regional allies” for stoking instability in the region, state-run IRNA news agency reported.

“Any mistake by the Americans and their allies in the region and the world will be met with a harsh and regrettable response,” Raisi said.

Biden warned that his patience is wearing thin for Iran to rejoin the nuclear deal.