‘Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran,’ the Israeli prime minister said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Feb. 16, where the two vowed to combat Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Netanyahu said after the meeting that he and Rubio had a “very productive discussion” on several issues, “none more important than Iran.”
“Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran,” the prime minister said. “We agreed that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons and also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region must be rolled back.”
Rubio pointed to Iran as the main aggressor in the region. “Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people that call this region home is Iran,” he said.
Israel has hit Iran with a “mighty blow” over the past 16 months since the start of the war against Hamas, Netanyahu said, adding that with Trump’s support, “I have no doubt we can and will finish the job.”
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon has been weakened as Israel hits hundreds of targets in Syria to stop a new Iranian-backed front from mobilizing against it, the prime minister said.
“Now, if any other force believes that Israel will permit other hostile forces to use Syria as a base of operations against us, they are gravely mistaken,” Netanyahu said.
Rubio’s visit occurred about a week after President Donald Trump floated the idea of relocating Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinian residents and the United States take control and ownership of the seaside territory. Trump also suggested that Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinians from Gaza, a proposal both nations rejected.
Netanyahu thanked Rubio for the United States’s “unequivocal backing” of Israel’s policies with Gaza and added that he and Trump share a common vision for the territory, where a fragile cease-fire deal is in effect between Israel and Hamas terrorists following more than 15 months of war.
“I want to assure everyone who’s now listening to us, President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination,” Netanyahu said.
By Jacob Burg
