US, Israeli officials pledge to enhance coordination regarding Iran

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan hosted Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, “and a senior Israeli interagency delegation at the White House on Monday for a meeting of the US-Israel Strategic Consultative Group,” The White House said in a statement.

According to the White House, they were joined by senior representatives from their respective foreign policy, defense, and intelligence agencies.

“The officials reviewed with significant concern advances in Iran’s nuclear program, and affirmed their mutual objective of further enhancing the longstanding security partnership between Israel and the United States,” the statement reads. “In this regard, officials pledged to enhance coordination on measures to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and to further deter Iran’s hostile regional activities.”

They also reviewed recent joint military exercises between the US military and the Israel Defense Forces, “and welcomed the visit to Israel later this week by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.”

Finally, the White House said, the officials reviewed efforts to further deepen Israel’s security and political integration into the Middle East region through the Abraham Accords, the Negev Forum, and other formats such as I2U2 – a forum that includes Israel, India, the US and the UAE. “Mr. Sullivan reemphasized President Biden’s unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security as expressed in the Jerusalem U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration signed during the President’s visit to Israel in July 2022,” the White House said

IAEA and Iranian Uranium

Meanwhile, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on the IAEA to approve a resolution censuring Iran. “As the Iranian regime continues to push the limit and enrich nuclear material to record levels approaching the 90 percent threshold for a nuclear weapon, the international community must respond,” said Menendez. “The regime’s excuses that these steps were accidental ring hollow and the international community must treat these for what they were: intentional,” he continued. “Likewise, Tehran’s agreement this weekend to increase IAEA monitoring at nuclear facilities falls well short of addressing these provocative steps.”

“The United States and our European allies must use this week’s UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meetings to speak with a single, unified voice that makes clear to Tehran that this boiling frog approach toward becoming a threshold nuclear state will not work,” he went on to say. “Anything short of a censure signals to the Iranian regime that it will face no punishment for the dangerous advancement of its nuclear activities.”