The White House said - in a statement today, Tuesday - that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed with great concern the progress made by Iran in its nuclear program with his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, and two delegations representing the two countries' security, defense and intelligence agencies.
The statement added that the participants in the meeting - which was held at the White House - pledged to strengthen coordination on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and increasing deterrence of its hostile regional activities. They also reviewed the recent joint maneuvers between the US and Israeli armies.
The statement said that efforts to enhance Israel's security and political integration in the Middle East region were also discussed through the "Abraham Accords" and the Negev Forum.
The statement added that Sullivan reaffirmed US President Joe Biden's commitment to Israel's security.
A commitment to dialogue
On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that his country is committed to the path of diplomacy and negotiations and will not leave the dialogue table.
He added - during his statement - that Tehran will continue efforts to reach a result in the talks to reactivate the nuclear agreement, taking into account its national interests, stressing that his country has informed the Western parties and the United States that reaching an agreement that everyone adheres to is on Iran's agenda.
He pointed out that Tehran will not back down from what he described as its "red lines" and has proven this, even during the period of riots inside the country that some Western countries sought to exaggerate, as he put it.
The new Iranian and American statements come after the visit of the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, to Tehran as part of efforts aimed at reviving the negotiations of the nuclear agreement concluded in 2015, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The visit culminated in the issuance of a joint statement between the Agency and the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, in which Iran pledged to continue cooperation with the Agency regarding 3 sites that it said were undeclared and where traces of uranium were found.
Iran has also expressed its willingness to provide more information on it and access it in order to address the remaining safeguards issues, and to allow the IAEA, when needed, to carry out more verification and supervision activities in nuclear facilities, provided that the method of this is agreed upon during a technical meeting to be held in Tehran soon.