'Diplomacy will not stop them': Israeli prime minister warns Biden on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday publicly urged President Joe Biden to threaten the use of military force against Iran to deter the development of its nuclear program.

Appearing alongside Biden at a joint news conference in Jerusalem, Lapid told reporters the Iranian regime “must know that if they continue to deceive the world, they will pay a heavy price.”

“Words will not stop them, Mr. President. Diplomacy will not stop them,” Lapid said. “The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if they continue to develop their nuclear program, the free world will use force. The only way to stop them is to put a credible military threat on the table.”

Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been a major subject of Biden’s discussions with Israeli officials during the first leg of his Middle East trip this week. Those conversations are expected to continue when Biden travels to Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Negotiations among Iranian, U.S. and European officials aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement — which then-President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018 — had been stalled since March. But Robert Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, traveled to Qatar last month for a resumption of indirect discussions with Tehran.

Asked about the United States’ efforts to assuage its partners in the Middle East, Biden told reporters at the news conference on Thursday that U.S. officials “mean what we say” in negotiations with Iran.

“[Iranian officials] have an opportunity to accept this agreement that’s been laid down,” Biden said. “If they don’t, we’ve made it absolutely clear: We will not — let me say it again — we will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”