National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat met with his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan, Tuesday at the Israeli Embassy in Washington to discuss the recent advancements in Iran's nuclear program and the US efforts to return to the 2015 nuclear deal. The two were joined by Robert Malley, who heads the American delegation in the nuclear talks in Vienna.
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The officials first held a small forum and were joined by Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Gilad Erdan and National Security Council deputy head Reuven Ezer as well as Brett McGurk, US National Security Council's coordinator for the Middle East, and Barbara Leaf, the NSC's Senior Director for the Middle East. They were later joined by more representatives from both countries.
"The United States updated Israel on the talks in Vienna and emphasized strong US interest in consulting closely with Israel on the nuclear issue going forward," the White House said in a statement released after the meeting.
The two countries "agreed to establish an inter-agency working group to focus particular attention on the growing" Iranian threat, the statement said.
Officials also discussed the Islamist regime's presence in Syria and Hezbollah's activity in Lebanon, as well as the threat posed by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the recent violence between Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem and more normalization deals between Israel and other Arab nations.
"The US strongly condemned the recent indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. US officials affirmed this administration's continued support for efforts to advance peace between Israelis and Palestinians and a two-state solution to the conflict," the White House said.
Tuesday marked the first time Ben-Shabbat and Sullivan met in person, having only held meetings digitally before. Ben-Shabbat is scheduled to return to Israel Wednesday evening.
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