Foreign Minister Yair Lapid shared his government's concerns over Iran "becoming a nuclear threshold state" during a Tuesday meeting with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at a White House meeting.
Israel's top diplomat, who also serves as its alternate prime minister, discussed with Sullivan the need for an alternative plan to revive world powers' tattered 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran as the Biden administration attempts to restart stalled negotiations under the Islamic Republic's new hardline president Ebrahim Raisi.
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Foreign Minister Yair Lapid meets with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Washington, DC, on October 12, 2021
(Photo: GPO)
Giving a joint press conference with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Capitol Hill later Tuesday, Lapid echoed the same language used with Sullivan, saying that "we all can unite around the idea that we will never let Iran become a nuclear threshold country."
Lapid stressed the importance of bipartisan support in Congress for the Jewish state in the face of the Iranian threat.
The new Israeli government has prioritized mending ties with the Democratic Party which seemed to falter under the rule of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was seen as bosom buddies with former president Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Lapid said that "the Palestinians deserve a better life" as he gestured toward Pelosi, in what can be seen as a nod to the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party who place prime on the Palestinian issue.
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Lapid and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Washington, DC, on October 12, 2021
(Photo: GPO)
During his meeting with Sullivan, Lapid presented his "Economy for Security" plan for the Gaza Strip, according to a statement.
During his Washington visit, the Yesh Atid chief is also expected to meet with his U.S. counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken, among other senior officials.
Lapid is also scheduled to meet with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, first for bilateral talks and then a trilateral meeting with Blinken.