Joe Biden Tells Trump Iran ‘Most Immediate’ Threat: Report

President Joe Biden’s administration warned President-elect Donald Trump that Iran is the most “immediate threat” to national security, in a White House meeting on Wednesday.

Biden’s Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters escalating tensions in the Middle East due to the conflict in Gaza made the Tehran regime and its associated militia groups a continuing risk for the U.S. and its citizens.

“There’s the most immediate issue, which is Iran and its proxy groups continue to take actions that directly threaten Americans and American interests in the Middle East, and that has to be dealt with on an urgent basis,” said Sullivan.

Newsweek reached out to Deputy White House press secretary and Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung for comment via email outside of business hours.

Sullivan said that Biden and Trump spoke about “important national security and domestic policy issues facing the nation and the world” as well as important items on Congress’ to-do list for the lame-duck session, including funding the government and providing the disaster supplemental funding the president requested,” and the overall peaceful transition of power.

Sullivan noted that he met with the Israeli minister of strategic affairs Ron Dermer to discuss the events in the Middle East on November 12 and dealt with Iran specifically.

He said that the Biden administration has been working to help Israel defend itself against Iranian attacks and pushing for a ceasefire.

Biden’s relationship with Iran has recently worsened due to the president’s support for Israel, which has been engaged in a series of retaliatory attacks with Iran since April.

Throughout his election campaign President-elect Trump talked about the U.S.’ relationship with Iran and has previously said that he hopes to be “friendly” with the country but will not allow them to have nuclear weapons.

This statement came after Trump blamed Iran for hacking his campaign’s internal communications, which Iranian officials denied, and federal officials later confirmed. He also previously said that the US should not get involved in a government change in Iran.

Trump was also recently the target of an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the president elect, which Iran has since denied.

The Iranian assassin was alleged to have been assigned by the government to kill numerous individuals in the U.S. as part of a larger mission, with one of his most prominent targets being Trump.

During his first term, Trump’s relationship with Iran was contentious and it worsened in 2018 following his exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the nuclear deal. Following the withdrawal, the U.S. reimposed sanctions on Iran which had previously been lifted by the deal.

The 2015 nuclear deal had been signed by Washington, Iran and world powers. When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, he stated his intention to rejoin it, but this has not been realized.