WASHINGTON – White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that a conversation between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is imminent.
“[President Biden’s] first call with a leader in the region will be with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Psaki said at a press briefing. “It will be soon; I don’t have an exact day, but it is soon.”
She went on to say that “Israel is, of course, an ally; Israel is a country where we have an important strategic security relationship, and our team is fully engaged – not at the head of state level quite yet – but our teams are fully engaged, having constant conversations at many levels with the Israelis.”
Since his inauguration on January 20, the president has not called the Israeli prime minister. However, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan has spoken twice with his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben Shabbat, as the US is consulting with allies and members of congress about the next steps the administration should take regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke twice with his Israel counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi. In their recent call last week, Ashkenazi thanked Blinken for the administration’s position against the ICC decision to investigate Israel.