In a recent interview with Israel's Channel 12, President Joe Biden stated that the United States would be willing to take military action against Iran as a "last resort" to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.
According to Yonit Levi, Israeli television anchor, Biden has previously stated that he is willing to do "everything" to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Levi asked if this implied the president would also "use force" against Iran.
"If it was the last resort, then sure," Biden responded, refusing to give out more details on whether the U.S. would collaborate with Israel on such an operation.
"However, Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon," he continued.
Reviving the 2015 nuclear deal is Biden's top foreign policy priority. In exchange for the easing of economic sanctions, the Obama-era agreement was supposed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
In May of 2018, President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement and reinstated sanctions.
The Israeli government hailed Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord, which went against the concerns of key U.S. friends in Europe. However, the action also increased friction between Washington and Tehran.
Trump's decision to approve a drone strike that resulted in the death of a prominent Iranian general worsened the tense situation, causing some to fear that a new conflict was imminent.
Since Trump pulled the U.S. from the deal, Iran has taken a number of measures away from its terms, including expanding its stockpile of enriched uranium.
This has generated concerns that Iran is much closer to developing a nuclear bomb than it was when the 2015 agreement was in full effect.
Biden's objective of restoring the 2015 nuclear agreement, technically known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has proven elusive. Thus far, indirect discussions between Washington and Tehran have yielded no deal.
Biden made it clear to Levi during the conversation that he was not willing to remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the U.S.'s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in order to overcome the impasse and achieve an agreement with the Islamic Republic.
This week marks Biden's first trip to the Middle East since entering the White House. His trip, which will also include stops in the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia, coincides with a tumultuous era in relations between the United States and both Israel and Saudi Arabia.
