Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Photo: DoD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo.

JNS.org – U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Israel on Sunday, less than a week after America and the other P5+1 nations reached a nuclear deal with Iran. Carter met with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Monday, and on Tuesday will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an outspoken opponent of the Iran deal.

In a joint press conference with Carter, Ya’alon said Israel “greatly disagrees” with the nuclear deal, but maintained that “the scope and depth of the relationship between the defense establishments of the United States and Israel is unprecedented—between the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defense, between our armed forces, intelligence corps, and defense industries.”

Carter said the U.S. is committed to help Israeli security by funding joint military training, missile defense, and advanced military equipment such as the F-35 jets, which Israel is scheduled to receive before any other U.S. allies next year.

During his flight to Tel Aviv on Sunday, Carter told reporters that he is “not going to change anybody’s mind in Israel” about the Iran deal.

“We can agree to disagree,” he said, the Associated Press reported.