Biden urges Iran to take nuclear deal, US won’t ‘wait forever’
President Biden indicated Iran could face dire consequences if they don’t agree to the dormant nuclear deal proposed by the US, saying “we’re not going to wait forever,” although he leaned on diplomacy while emphasizing the US will do anything to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“We mean what we say. They have an opportunity to accept, this agreement has been laid down,” Biden said during during a joint Thursday press conference in Israel with Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
“If they don’t, we have made it absolutely clear: We will not – let me say it again – we will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Thursday’s bilateral meeting and press conference highlighted the joint signing of the US-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration — which pledged to “never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that [the US] is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome.”
Still, Biden has been wary of committing to the use of military force to deter Iran, telling Israel’s Channel 12 in an interview aired Wednesday night that the move should be a “last resort”.
However, Lapid put pressure on the president Thursday, saying a show of force is the “only way” to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“Words will not stop [Iran]. Diplomacy will not stop them,” the prime minister said.
“The only way to stop them is to put a credible military threat on the table.”
Meanwhile, Biden continued to hold out for diplomacy, saying it is “the best way to achieve this outcome.”
Also during Thursday’s conference, Biden wouldn’t commit to pressing Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salem on Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s ruthless murder Thursday when he meets with the monarch this week — after US intelligence determined the prince ordered the 2018 hit.
“What will you say to Saudi leaders, specifically Crown Prince Mohammed, about the Khashoggi murder and other human rights practices?” Biden was asked.
“My views on Khashoggi have been absolutely, positively clear. And I have never been quiet about talking about human rights,” the president said before dancing around the subject to highlight the purpose of his visit.
Ultimately, Biden gave a vague and noncommittal answer to the press saying, “I always, always bring up human rights.”
“My position on Khashoggi has been so clear, if anyone doesn’t understand it — in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else — they haven’t been around for a while,” he continued, appearing to bizarely suggest he wouldn’t need to press the crown prince, colloquially known as MBS.
The president’s weak comments came after he vowed during his presidential campaign to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over MBS’s role in Khashoggi’s brutal killing. He has been highly criticized for even agreeing to meet with the royal, and reportedly rejected the idea himself at first. However, Biden ultimately agreed in a last-ditch effort to appeal to the oil-rich kingdom for an increase in production to help bring down fuel prices in the US.
And the president also took a moment to praise the Abraham Accords — the first peace deals between the Jewish state and Arab nations in decades that was spearheaded by the Trump administration.
“Tomorrow I’ll be the first American president to fly from Israel directly to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,” Biden said. “That represents important progress.”
