US President Joe Biden will visit Israel later this year, the White House said in a statement on Sunday following a call between Biden and Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Bennett invited Biden and his wife for a visit during the call, the third phone conversation between the two leaders since Bennett entered office in June 2021.

“The President thanked the Prime Minister for his invitation to visit Israel and said he looks forward to a visit later this year,” the White House stated. “They agreed that their teams would remain in close consultation.”

Bennett congratulated Biden for last week’s deadly raid in Syria that killed the leader of the Islamic State group, the PMO’s office announced after the call.

Bennett told Biden that “the world is now a safer place thanks to the courageous operation of the U.S. forces,” his office said.

Bennett and Biden also discussed Iranian military activity across the Middle East and efforts to block Iran’s nuclear program, it said. The White House said in a statement that the leaders discussed “the threat posed by Iran and its proxies.”

Biden, according to the White House, also reiterated his “full support for replenishing Israel’s Iron Dome” defense system. The system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets is in need of restocking after last year’s 11-day war with Hamas in Gaza.

The two leaders also discussed concerns at the Ukraine-Russia border, where Biden administration officials on Sunday warned anew that further Russian invasion could come soon, though they remain hopeful the Russians will still de-escalate through diplomatic means.

Earlier Sunday, Bennett said Israel is closely watching world powers’ negotiations with Iran in Vienna, but reiterated his position that Israel is not bound by any agreement reached by them. Israel has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if it believes it is necessary to halt the country’s nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

“Anyone who thinks such an agreement will increase stability is wrong,” Bennett told his Cabinet early Sunday. “Israel reserves its right to act in any case, with or without an agreement.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem & AP)