The Arabic website published a news article highlighting the renewed stance of the new Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, regarding Iran's possession of nuclear weapons. He emphasized that Tel Aviv will continue to work and coordinate with Washington to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear arms. In a tweet posted on his account last night, he stressed during his meeting with the U.S. envoy to Israel, Michael Ratney, that his country will continue its efforts with allies to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and that necessary discussions on this issue will occur behind closed doors.
The new Israeli Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, also affirmed earlier yesterday that his country will "do everything in its power" to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Lapid, who will be the alternate prime minister after two years, described the nuclear agreement signed with Tehran as "bad" during the ceremony where he took over from his predecessor, Gabi Ashkenazi.
It is noteworthy that Tel Aviv has consistently affirmed it will not hesitate to prevent Iranian authorities from possessing nuclear weapons by all means. This point is a shared consensus among all Israeli governments regardless of their political affiliations or components.
On Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated the new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who succeeds Benjamin Netanyahu after 12 years in power. He noted that they agreed during their phone conversation to coordinate on the Iranian nuclear issue and regional matters. Earlier this month (June), the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed it would continue to support Israel in countering Iranian threats. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Dana Stroul stressed at the time that the Biden administration's policy in the Middle East is based on de-escalation, as well as addressing Iran's misbehavior.
