Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer speaks at the 2017 AIPAC policy conference in Washington, DC on Sunday. Photo: Screenshot.

“When it comes to the great challenges facing Israel and the United States, for the first time in many years, perhaps in many decades, there is no daylight between our two governments,” the Jewish state’s top diplomat in Washington declared on Sunday.

Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer was speaking at the opening session of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference at the Washington Convention Center.

According to Dermer, “there was a meeting of the minds” when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump last month at the White House.

“That has made me even more confident that our alliance will be considerably stronger in the years ahead,” Dermer went on to say.

The greatest regional threat facing Israel and the US in the Middle East, Dermer stated, remains Iran. “We both recognize that the [July 2015] nuclear deal does not block Iran’s path to the bomb and that Iran’s appetite for aggression and terror has only grown since that deal was signed and sanctions were removed,” Dermer said.

“We also recognize,” Dermer continued, “that the worst outcome that could emerge from the horrific violence in Syria would be to effectively cede parts of Syria to Iran and Hezbollah.”

Furthermore, Dermer noted, “the rising tide of militant Islam which has engulfed the Middle East has also enabled a rare moment of opportunity to bring Israel and many in the Arab world closer together. In working together to thwart common dangers, there is a real prospect of building a genuine path towards reconciliation in the region — a path not based on empty hopes and dangerous illusions, but a path based on a clear-eyed understanding of shared threats as well as a common desire for a safer, more prosperous and more peaceful future.”

Watch video of Dermer’s remarks below: