Herzog: Iran Nuclear Threat Among Topics at Meeting with Biden

18 July 2023, US, Washington: President of Israel Isaac Herzog (L) meets with US President Joe Biden in the White House. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO/dpa
18 July 2023, US, Washington: President of Israel Isaac Herzog (L) meets with US President Joe Biden in the White House. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO/dpa
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Herzog: Iran Nuclear Threat Among Topics at Meeting with Biden

18 July 2023, US, Washington: President of Israel Isaac Herzog (L) meets with US President Joe Biden in the White House. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO/dpa
18 July 2023, US, Washington: President of Israel Isaac Herzog (L) meets with US President Joe Biden in the White House. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO/dpa

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he and US President Biden discussed issues ranging from Iran's nuclear threat to Israel's internal situation at their White House meeting on Tuesday.

"We discussed thus many issues, including the Iranian nuclear threat," Herzog said after the meeting.

"And naturally, we also discussed the internal issues in Israel, how important they are to the world, of course, where they stem from."

Sitting by Biden's side at the start of their Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, Herzog told Biden that Israel's democracy remains “sound, strong” and “resilient” while acknowledging the country is going through a fractious moment.

Herzog's visit comes a day after Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone and invited him to meet in the US this fall, although the president expressed reservations about several of the Netanyahu hard-right coalition's policies.

Netanyahu’s government is pushing forward with judicial changes that have sparked widespread protest in Israel and he has authorized the construction of thousands of new housing units in the West Bank.

“We are going through pains. We are going through heated debates,” Herzog said. “We have gone through challenging moments. But I truly, truly believe and I say to you Mr. President, as I’ve said it as head of state to the people of Israel, we should always seek to find amicable consensus, and I agree with you on that as well.”

During his US visit, Herzog is also to meet Vice President Kamala Harris and congressional leaders. On Wednesday he will become the second Israeli president, after his father Chaim Herzog, to address Congress. His speech will mark Israel’s celebration of its 75th year of independence.



Macron Meets with Families of 3 French Nationals Detained in Iran

A woman, holding a photo of French teacher Cécile Kohler, detained in Iran since May 2022 along with her partner Jacques Paris, takes part in a rally in Paris on 23 March, 2024, to ask for the release of French citizens held in Iran. (AFP)
A woman, holding a photo of French teacher Cécile Kohler, detained in Iran since May 2022 along with her partner Jacques Paris, takes part in a rally in Paris on 23 March, 2024, to ask for the release of French citizens held in Iran. (AFP)
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Macron Meets with Families of 3 French Nationals Detained in Iran

A woman, holding a photo of French teacher Cécile Kohler, detained in Iran since May 2022 along with her partner Jacques Paris, takes part in a rally in Paris on 23 March, 2024, to ask for the release of French citizens held in Iran. (AFP)
A woman, holding a photo of French teacher Cécile Kohler, detained in Iran since May 2022 along with her partner Jacques Paris, takes part in a rally in Paris on 23 March, 2024, to ask for the release of French citizens held in Iran. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron met on Monday with the families of three French nationals detained in Iran, assuring that the authorities will pursue their cases, according to Noémie Kohler, the sister of Cécile, one of the detainees.

Macron met with the relatives of Cécile, her partner Jacques Paris, and Olivier Grondeau, a third Frenchman detained by Tehran, for about one and a half hour, Noémie told AFP.

“Macron provided us with a number of answers regarding the measures France is undertaking to secure the release of the detainees,” she said.

“The meeting shows us that the situation of our loved ones is being taken very seriously at the highest levels,” Noémie explained.

She added that the families of the three detainees understood that the Iranian authorities had not responded to the French proposals that were offered to them.

However, Cécile’s sister lamented the lack of “short-term prospects for release, which is very, very hard to endure.”

Cécile, a teacher of modern literature, was arrested on May 7, 2022, while traveling in Iran with her partner Jacques Paris, and charged with “espionage.”

Another French national, Olivier Grondeau, has also been detained in Iran since 2022.

On Jan. 31, Cécile’s family appealed to Macron on the 1,000th day of her detention in Iran.

On the same day, Macron denounced the “arbitrary and improper detention” of the French nationals. He said they were “hostages” and demanded their release.

In response, Iran rejected as “unconstructive” Macron's statements. It confirmed that “the decisions taken by our (judicial) system were in accordance with the law.”

Also last month, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot urged French nationals not to go to Iran until the hostages have been freed.

“The situation of our compatriots held hostage in Iran is quite simply unacceptable. They have been unjustly detained for several years, in unworthy conditions,” he said during the annual conference of French ambassadors in Paris.

In May 2023, Iran released French nationals Bernard Phelan and Benjamin Briere in a prisoner swap.