US defense chief’s visit to Israel reveals divisions on Iran

By ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Long-running differences between the Biden administration and Israel over how to stop Iran’s rapidly accelerating nuclear program have spilled into public view. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday discussed Tehran’s nuclear ambitions with his Israeli counterpart on a visit to the country. Efforts to revive Tehran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have stalled for months. Still, Austin insisted that “diplomacy is the best way to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on the other hand, appeared to suggest the need for military action to slow Iran’s uranium enrichment. The diplomatic differences also extended to Russia’s war on Ukraine.