Israel and the United States are both determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its “aggression” in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday following a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Speaking after a meeting with Rubio in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said they had held a “very productive discussion” on a number of issues, “none more important than Iran”.
“Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran,” he said. “We agreed that the Ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons and also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region must be rolled back.”
Netanyahu’s statements come after Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday said his country would rebuild its nuclear facilities if attacked, following US media reports that Israel was likely to launch a strike on key Iranian nuclear sites.
Rubio said: “Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilising activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people that call this region home is Iran.”
Netanyahu said Israel had dealt a “mighty blow” to Iran over the past 16 months since the start of its war on Gaza against Hamas and said that with the support of Trump “I have no doubt we can and will finish the job”.
He said Israel had weakened the Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon and had hit hundreds of targets in Syria to prevent a new allegedly Iran-backed front from opening up against Israel.
“Now, if any other force believes that Israel will permit other hostile forces to use Syria as a base of operations against us, they are gravely mistaken,” Netanyahu said.
After the Israeli military had launched strikes on Iranian military bases on Oct 26, 2024 — to avenge a missile barrage by Iran — Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned his country would “certainly” respond in a “well-measured” manner.
The two longstanding foes had also seen heated exchanges in April 2024, when drones hit Iran in what was reported as an attack by Israel. It came days after Tehran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at the former in retaliation for a deadly strike at its embassy in Syria.
Thanking Rubio for “unequivocal backing” for Israel’s policy in Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel and the United States under President Donald Trump shared a common strategy in the Palestinian enclave, where a fragile ceasefire is in effect between Israel and Hamas after 15 months of bombardment.
“I want to assure everyone who’s now listening to us, President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us,” he said.
Rubio added: “Hamas can not continue as a military or government force and as long as it stands as a force that can govern or administer or a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible.”
Israel receives shipment of heavy bombs cleared by Trump
The display of Rubio and Netanyahu’s unified stance on the Middle East came after Tel Aviv received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the US, the defence ministry said today.
The development came after Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of those munitions by the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden.
The MK-84 is an unguided 907-kilogramme (2,000-pound) bomb, which can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
The Biden administration declined to clear them for export to Israel out of concern about the impact on densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
The Biden administration sent thousands of 907kg bombs to Israel after the Oct 7, 2023 attack by Hamas but later held up one of the shipments. The hold was lifted by Trump last month.
“The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump Administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said late on Saturday.
The shipment arrived after days of concern about whether a fragile ceasefire in Gaza agreed upon last month would hold, after both sides accused each other of violating the terms of the deal to halt fighting to allow the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails.
According to a study reported in October 2024, Washington has announced assistance for Israel worth at least $17.9 billion since the recent Gaza conflict began.