New US ambassador welcomed by Israel president

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said to the newly appointed US Ambassador Thomas Richard Nides on Sunday that "the greatest challenge Israel and the Unites States face is the common threat posed by Iran".

Israel has been watching with concern when world powers sit down with Iran in Vienna in hopes of restoring the tattered 2015 deal. last week, Iran struck a hard line when talks resumed, suggesting everything discussed in previous rounds of diplomacy could be renegotiated.

The original deal, spearheaded by then-President Barack Obama, gave Iran much-needed relief from crippling economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities. But then-President Donald Trump, with strong encouragement from Israel, withdrew from the deal in 2018, causing it to unravel.

Nides said President Joe Biden has made it very clear the United States is committed to ensuring that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.