WASHINGTON, 28 August 2021, (TON): US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in White House talks that he was putting diplomacy first to try to rein in Iran's nuclear program but if negotiations fail he would be prepared to turn to other unspecified options.

In brief remarks before reporters were ushered out of the Oval Office, both leaders touched on Iran, one of the thorniest issues between the Biden administration and Israel, but mostly papered over disagreements.

Biden said “he and Bennett discussed the threat from Iran and our commitment to ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.”

Biden added, without offering specifics “we're putting diplomacy first and we'll see where that takes us. But if diplomacy fails, we're ready to turn to other options.”

After a one-day delay due to a deadly suicide bombing in Kabul during the chaotic US evacuation from Afghanistan, Biden and Bennett held their first meeting seeking to reset US-Israeli relations and narrow differences over how to deal with Iran's nuclear developments.