U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference with Australian Minister of Defense Peter Dutton, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, U.S., September 16, 2021. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS

JNS.org – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid on Wednesday about a number of diplomatic matters, especially security.

According to the State Department, the two leaders discussed “a range of regional and global challenges, including the risks of further Russian aggression against Ukraine as well as the challenges posed by Iran. Secretary Blinken reiterated the administration’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”

The phone meeting comes as the United States and world powers resumed negotiations with Iran over its nuclear deal in Vienna.

Lapid said on Monday that a new nuclear deal won’t be a good result for Israel, but that “Jerusalem is trying to mitigate the damage” and is working with its allies to improve the end results.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday there has been “modest progress” in talks and participants are hoping to build on that this week.

“Sanctions relief and the steps that the United States would take … when it comes to sanctions together with the nuclear steps that Iran would need to take if we were to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA—that’s really at the heart of the negotiations that are ongoing in Vienna right now,” he said, as reported by Reuters.