(Photo : Pool Photo by Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 27: U.S. President Joe Biden listens during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Oval Office at the White House on August 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. During their first face-to-face meeting at the White House, US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett focused their talks on Iran.
Social media users have continuously shared a clip that seemed to show United States President Joe Biden falling asleep during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
While the video recording appears to show off a dozing Biden, the clipped footage has been misleadingly cropped. A look into longer recordings of the event showed that the Democratic president later shows he responded to Bennett.
Sleepy Joe Dozing Off in Meeting with Israeli PM?
On Aug. 27, 2021, Biden and Bennett conducted their meeting where they discussed the reset of U.S.-Israeli relations and narrow differences on how to properly deal with Iran's nuclear advances. The two officials' encounter was delayed for a day due to a suicide bombing in Kabul as the United States continued its withdrawal of American soldiers.
A full recording of the meeting shows Biden talking and engaging with Bennett throughout the meeting. The short clip that claims the Democrat was asleep was cut at the 12:42 minute mark and did not show the point from 13:14 where the U.S. president continued speaking. Online users left out that part of the discussions on shared viral videos on social media platforms, Reuters reported.
During the meeting, Biden said that the White House was putting "diplomacy first" and would observe how things pan out. However, the Democrat said that if that plan failed, they would be ready to turn to other options and backup plans.
Biden did not detail what other options the American government had in dealing with the issues. He also refused to answer questions following his and Bennett's Oval Office comments. The Israeli prime minister said he was happy to learn about the U.S.'s commitment to not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was later asked about Biden's alleged other options where she replied by saying, "Any president has a range of options at their disposal. I'm not going to outline those from here," Voice of America reported.
Iran's Nuclear Programs and Advancements
Since 2018, Tehran has slowly abandoned every limitation the accord imposed on its nuclear enrichment. Now, the country enriches up to 63% of uranium, which is only a short step away from being weapons-grade levels, compared to the deal's limit of 3.67%. Officials have also opted to spin far more advanced centrifuges, more than allowed under the accord, which has caused concern among nuclear nonproliferation experts despite Tehran arguing that its programs are not designed to be dangerous.
During the meeting, Bennett said Israel had its own plans to deal with Iran's nuclear programs that he wished to discuss with Biden in private. He argued that Iran was the number one exporter of terror, instability, and human rights violations worldwide. The official argued that if the Iranians were allowed to do as they pleased, it could cause massive problems for every nation across the world.
Bennett made it clear that he did not want an Iran deal, arguing that the country has already advanced its uranium enrichment to a level that could pose a threat to other countries. He noted that sanctions relief could give the region much more resources to support Israel's enemies in the area, the Associated Press reported.
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