US and Israel discuss Iran concerns in first meeting of strategic group

Allies express common determination to confront the threats facing the Middle East, but differ on how to handle Iran

Israel hopes to prevent personal tension between Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden over their differences on the Iranian nuclear question by delegating talks on the topic to senior staff, an Israeli ofShow more

Senior US and Israeli officials focused on concerns about Iran during the first online meeting of a bilateral strategic group on Thursday, the White House said, an issue on which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has differences with the Biden administration.

President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat, led the delegations, said Emily Horne, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.

"During the discussion, the two sides shared perspectives on regional security issues of mutual interest and concern, including Iran, and expressed their common determination to confront the challenges and threats facing the region," she said.

The Biden administration depicted the meeting as part of its efforts to consult allies and partners as it seeks to draw Iran into talks about Tehran and Washington resuming compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

US overtures to Iran set the stage for possible new tensions in the US-Israel alliance.

Mr Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew the US from the world powers' agreement with Iran, deeming it too advantageous for Tehran – a view Israel shared – and reimposed US sanctions. Mr Netanyahu has made clear his opposition to a US return to the deal.

The State Department on Thursday repeated that the US will not offer Iran unilateral incentives to attend talks on resuming compliance with the deal, which gave Tehran sanctions relief in return for limits on its nuclear programme.

Israel hopes to prevent personal tension between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Biden over their differences on the Iranian nuclear question by delegating talks on the topic to senior staff, an Israeli official said last month.

“The national security advisers agreed on the importance of strategic interagency consultations and pledged to continue to these engagements,” Ms Horne said.