U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he was deeply concerned about Iran's advances in uranium enrichment, while his Israeli counterpart said it was necessary to take all measures to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, Reuters reports.
Austin, speaking at a joint news conference with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday (March 9), said: "We remain deeply concern by Iran support for terrorism, its dangerous proxies, its nuclear advances, its aggression at sea, its cyber threats."
Gallant said Iran posed a threat to Israel and the entire world.
The U.S. is Israel's closest ally and both countries are increasingly concerned about Iranian military activities in the region and its nuclear programme - which Tehran says is wholly focused on power generation and other peaceful projects.
Austin, who is on a regional tour, landed in Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday for a visit that had been hastily rescheduled due to a surge in street protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary.
After meeting Gallant, Austin emphasised the shared importance to the U.S. and Israel of their democratic principles.
"As President Biden has said the genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, and on an independent judiciary," he said.
Austin called on allies to step up support for Ukraine in its war with Russia at Thursday's news conference.
While Israel has condemned the Russian invasion and provided Ukraine with humanitarian relief and protective gear, it has stopped short of widening the assistance to include defence technologies such as missile interceptors.
Austin also said he had a frank discussion with Israeli leaders about the need to de-escalate tensions with the Palestinians.
Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces have killed more than 70 Palestinians, including militant fighters and civilians; in the same period, Palestinians have killed 13 Israelis and one Ukrainian woman in apparently uncoordinated attacks.
