Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has talked over phone with US President Joe Biden for first time since the latter took office, PM’s office said in a statement. 

“The conversation was very warm and friendly and continued for approximately one hour. The two leaders noted their longstanding personal connection,” and said they would collaborate to continue strengthening the steadfast alliance between Israel and the US, Netanyahu’s media adviser said.

The Israeli premier and US president “discussed the future advancement of the peace accords, the Iranian threat and regional challenges, and agreed to continue their dialogue”.

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Biden spoke with Netanyahu on November 17, two weeks after the presidential election in which he beat president Donald Trump, a strong supporter of the right-wing Israeli prime minister.

In his first major policy speech, Biden did not even mention Israel as he spoke of his efforts to solidify US alliances.

Trump had taken a very pro Israel policy course, shifting the US embassy to Jerusalem, in a move that broke with decades of international consensus and enraged the Palestinians, who see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Trump also unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal agreed between Iran and world powers, in another move that pleased Israel, which always opposed that multilateral pact.

But Biden has signalled a willingness to negotiate with Tehran to rescue the nuclear agreement, which has been hanging by a thread since the US withdrew in 2018.

In Wednesday’s phone call, “Biden also commended Netanyahu on his leadership in the fight against the coronavirus,” the Israeli premier’s media adviser added.