US, Israel Sign Joint Pledge to Deny Iran Nuclear Weaponry

US President Joe Biden (L) and Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, take part in a virtual meeting with leaders of the “I2U2” group, which includes, US, Israel, India, and the United Arab Emirates, at a hotel in Jerusalem, on July 14, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)
US President Joe Biden (L) and Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, take part in a virtual meeting with leaders of the “I2U2” group, which includes, US, Israel, India, and the United Arab Emirates, at a hotel in Jerusalem, on July 14, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)
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US, Israel Sign Joint Pledge to Deny Iran Nuclear Weaponry

US President Joe Biden (L) and Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, take part in a virtual meeting with leaders of the “I2U2” group, which includes, US, Israel, India, and the United Arab Emirates, at a hotel in Jerusalem, on July 14, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)
US President Joe Biden (L) and Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, take part in a virtual meeting with leaders of the “I2U2” group, which includes, US, Israel, India, and the United Arab Emirates, at a hotel in Jerusalem, on July 14, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed a joint pledge on Thursday to deny Iran nuclear arms.

"We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon," Biden told a news conference following the signing of the declaration.

Thursday's statement reaffirmed US support for Israel's regional military edge and ability "to defend itself by itself".

"The United States stresses that integral to this pledge is the commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome," the statement added.

Lapid said the international community must be willing to use force against Iran in order to halt its nuclear program.

“The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if they continue to develop their nuclear program, the free world will use force,” he said after the signing ceremony. “The only way to stop them is to put a credible military threat on the table.”

Speaking alongside him, Biden described preventing a nuclear Iran as "a vital security interest for Israel and the United States and, I would add, for the rest of the world as well".

Biden has pushed for a return to the nuclear talks with Iran but said it was up to Iran to respond.

"We are not going to wait forever," he said.

The Jerusalem Declaration further committed the United States and Israel to cooperating on defense projects such as laser interceptors, as well as on civilian technologies.

The United States was open to future defense grants to Israel, the statement said, reaffirming Washington's interest in reviving talks on an Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution.



France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
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France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)

France accused Iran on Monday of "repression and intimidation" after a court handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new six-year prison sentence on charges of harming national security.

Mohammadi, sentenced Saturday, was also handed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "propaganda" against Iran's system, according to her foundation.

"With this sentence, the Iranian regime has, once again, chosen repression and intimidation," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, describing the 53-year-old as a "tireless defender" of human rights.

Paris is calling for the release of the activist, who was arrested before protests erupted nationwide in December after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.

The movement peaked in January as authorities launched a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.

Over the past quarter-century, Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women.

Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).


Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
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Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."


UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
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UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.