Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would discuss Iran's nuclear activities during his visit to US President Donald Trump next week, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
During a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel was aware that Iran had recently conducted "exercises", without giving further details.
Yesterday, Iranian state media reported that Tehran had conducted exercises with missile launches in various cities. This is the second such announcement in a month, Reuters recalls.
Western powers consider Iran's missile arsenal both a conventional military threat to Middle East stability and a possible delivery system for nuclear warheads if Tehran develops them. Iran denies such accusations.
Despite "major achievements" during the 12-day war with Iran in June, Netanyahu noted that basic Israeli and American expectations of Iran remained unchanged, including a reduction in the level of uranium enrichment.
"Of course, this will be a topic of our discussions", he said of his meeting with Trump next week. "We will not seek confrontation" with Tehran, but “stability, prosperity and peace“, the Israeli prime minister added.
The focus of the talks in Washington, however, will be progress towards the second phase of the US president's plan for peace in Gaza, as well as dealing with the pro-Iranian group “Hezbollah“ in Lebanon.
Relations between eastern Mediterranean neighbors Israel, Greece and Cyprus have strengthened over the past decade, following shared concerns about Turkish influence in the region.
Netanyahu, Mitsotakis and Christodoulides agreed to deepen security cooperation, and the Israeli prime minister said the three countries were moving forward with an initiative to connect India with Europe through the Middle East by sea and rail.
Israel has agreed to deepen its security cooperation with Greece and Cyprus, Reuters reports, after a trilateral summit in Jerusalem attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, BTA reports.
During the joint press conference, Netanyahu said the three countries plan to develop the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which aims to connect India with Europe by sea and rail via the Middle East.
President Christodoulides reiterated his support for an energy interconnector from Europe and Cyprus to the Middle East, stressing that the project remains a key priority for the three countries. He added that more could be done to cooperate with Israel in counter-terrorism, cybersecurity and energy security.
Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis noted that his country was “ready to help“ in the reconstruction of Gaza after the end of the conflict.
Netanyahu also mentioned that Israel was closely following the “exercises“ of Iran and that Tehran's nuclear activities should be discussed with US President Donald Trump, without giving further details.