Before Herzog's Speech in Congress; Biden and Netanyahu Discussed Iran

Israeli media reports that Joe Biden, the President of the United States, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, agreed in a phone call to meet and discuss in the U.S. The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that Mr. Biden had previously refrained from meeting Netanyahu at the White House on two occasions. It is unclear from the Jerusalem Post report whether Mr. Biden will host Netanyahu at the White House this time. In a few weeks, the annual United Nations General Assembly will be held in New York, where world leaders are expected to attend. Mr. Netanyahu is also expected to travel to New York at that time. According to the report, the two leaders spoke after months of escalating tension between them over Netanyahu's proposed judicial reforms in Israel, which Biden has opposed. According to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, they also discussed ways to strengthen the Israel-U.S. alliance and the necessity of curbing Iran's nuclear program. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated that they talked about expanding the 'Abraham Accords' to normalize relations between Israel and more Arab countries. Tensions between Israel and the U.S. remain high over Biden's efforts to return to the nuclear deal with Iran. The Israeli Prime Minister believes that the nuclear deal with Iran is not strong enough to halt the Islamic Republic's efforts to produce nuclear weapons. This phone call took place while President Biden is set to host Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday. According to the New York Times, the meeting with Herzog at the White House indicates the strength of Israel-U.S. relations but seems to emphasize the existing tension between Biden and Netanyahu. Netanyahu has not visited the White House since he returned to power last year. Herzog is expected to speak in front of American lawmakers in Congress after his meeting with Biden.