US and Israeli officials have signed a joint promise to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons after a face-to-face meeting this week.

President Joe Biden is currently undertaking a four-day tour of the Middle East, his first official tour of the region as commander in chief.

He used a visit to Israel to reaffirm support for the nation, which has been engaged in an ongoing proxy conflict with Iran since 1985.

The joint statement says the US will use “all elements of power” available to deny Iran the ability to arm itself with nuclear weapons.

“The only way to stop a nuclear Iran is if Iran knows the free world will use force,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said.

President Biden maintained diplomacy is still the best way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear force but reiterated a guarantee to provide security for Israel.

For decades, Iran insisted its nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes and that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had issued a fatwa against the development and use of nuclear weapons.

But in an interview in November 2021, a former head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation admitted to the existence of a “system” with military capabilities.

Image: Amir Levy/Getty Images