Washington: U.S President Joe Biden has discussed the Iranian nuclear issue and bilateral security ties with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Sitting with Bennett at the Oval Office, Biden reaffirmed US "unwavering commitment" to Israel's security and supported the Jewish state to deepen its relationship with Arab and Muslim countries, according to reports..

"And we're also going to discuss the threat from Iran and our commitment to ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon," said Biden. "But we're putting diplomacy first, seeing where that takes us. But if diplomacy fails, we're ready to turn to other options." Bennett extended his condolence for US casualties in the Kabul attack.

The prime minister said "We've developed a comprehensive strategy that we're going to be talking about with two goals," he said. "The first goal is to stop Iran on its regional aggression and start rolling it back into the box; and the second is to permanently keep Iran away from ever being able to break out their nuclear weapon." Israel opposed Biden's diplomatic efforts to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Washington and Tehran conducted multiple rounds of indirect talks in Austria's capital Vienna since April to revive the deal, but the process had stalled for weeks as the two sides could not settle their differences.

The Iran nuclear program was the main topic in his discussion with Biden. The two leaders also held different views over the Palestine-Israel issue. Biden expressed his support for a two-state solution, which Bennett rejected.

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