U.S. President Joe Biden and Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett shake hands during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. August 27, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

i24 News – Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, during his Friday meeting with US President Joe Biden, stated he would not campaign against US attempts to return to the Iran nuclear deal, it was reported.

The decision — first reported by Walla, citing two US sources familiar with the details of the meeting — marks a departure from the policy of Bennett’s predecessor, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who regularly campaigned against the bill during the Obama era.

According to the Times of Israel, a statement from Netanyahu’s party, Likud, rebuked Bennett’s actions. The party claimed, “Iran is galloping toward the bomb and the weak government in Israel proved that it does not intend to fight against it.”

In his White House meeting, Bennett introduced his Iran approach, which focuses on a “gray zone” campaign to combat Iran’s regional behavior and keep Tehran a year away from achieving nuclear weapons capability.

In remarks to the public in the Oval Office, Biden expressed that while he prefers a diplomatic solution, his administration would not rule out the use of “other options” should discussions fail. When White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked what these options entailed, she did not explain further.

Bennett’s tour of the US marks his first meeting in Washington with Biden.

On Wednesday, the prime minister also met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.