Israel and the United States are determined to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions and its "aggression" in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Speaking after meeting Rubio in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said they had held a "very productive discussion" on a number of issues, "none more important than Iran".
"Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran," he said. "We agreed that the mullahs must not have nuclear weapons and also agreed that Iran's aggression in the region must be rolled back."
Rubio said: "Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people that call this region home is Iran."
Israeli-Iranian enmity stretches back decades through a history of clandestine wars and attacks by land, sea, air and cyberspace.
Iran, which says it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, has also backed armed groups across the Middle East that describe themselves as the "Axis of Resistance" to Israel and US influence in the region.
The Axis includes not only Hamas, the Palestinian group that ignited the Gaza war by attacking Israel in October 2023, but also the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, the Houthi militias in Yemen, various Shiite armed groups in Iraq and Syria.
Over the 16 months since the Gaza war erupted, Israel has assassinated top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah and Israel and Iran have exchanged limited retaliatory attacks.
Netanyahu said Israel had dealt a "mighty blow" to Iran since the start of the war in Gaza and said that with the support of US President Donald Trump "I have no doubt we can and will finish the job".
Thanking Rubio for "unequivocal backing" for Israel's policy in Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel and the United States under Trump shared a common strategy in the Palestinian enclave, where a fragile ceasefire is in effect.
"I want to assure everyone who's now listening to us, President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us," he said.
