Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (R) meets with Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunfored in Tel Aviv Oct. 18, 2015. Joseph Dunfored started his Israel trip on Saturday. (Xinhua/U.S. Embassy/Matty Stern)
JERUSALEM, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli and U.S. defense officials on Sunday reiterated the tight military cooperation between the countries, despite recent disagreements on the Iran nuclear deal.
The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Marine General Joseph Dunfored, arrived in Israel on Saturday in his first foreign trip on duty and met with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon on Sunday.
The two made comments about the strong commitment between the two countries, in the face of the challenges and common interests the two countries share in the region.
"The United States and Israel share the same interests and values," Ya'alon said prior to his meeting with Dunford on Sunday at his Tel Aviv office, according to a statement from his office.
"I believe that the U.S. and Israel will win in anything related to terrorism in the Middle East," Ya'alon added, blaming Iran for causing instability in the region and supporting terrorism against Israel by funneling funds to militant groups in the area.
World powers reached a deal with Iran in July, removing economic sanctions on the Islamic republic in exchange for heavy limitations on its ability to manufacture nuclear weapons.
While Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, Netanyahu objected to the deal, led by the U.S., and called it a historic mistake that threatens Israel's security.
Dunford acknowledged the "ups and downs" in the relationship between Israel and the U.S. recently over the Iranian nuclear deal, but said that the military relationship "remained strong" and will continue to be strong during his time in office.
"The challenges we face, we face together," Dunford told reporters at the start of his meeting with Ya'alon.
With that, the Israeli and U.S. air forces have embarked on Sunday on a bi-annual joint exercise dubbed "Blue Flag," the Israeli military said in a statement.
The exercise will take place at the Ovda Air Force base in southern Israel in the next two weeks, and it would "create a multi-national learning environment, including fictional countries, in which participants can practice planning and execution of large air force operations," the military said.
Israel's ambassador to the United States Ron Dremer wrote on his Facebook page over the weekend that Israel is hoping to "forge a common policy" with the U.S. in order to "address the dangers posed by Iran."
He also said the discussions would include talks about the U.S' defense aid supplement to Israel. Currently, the U.S. has agreement to provide defense aid to Israel until 2017.
The talks of renewing the aid were delayed due to the heavy disagreements over the Iranian nuclear deal, but have resumed to the agenda, Dremer said. Israel is the biggest recipient of defense aid from the U.S.
The complicated relationship between the longtime allies is also overshadowed by the current wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories that had since Oct. 1 seen the deaths of 7 Israelis and more than 40 Palestinians.
The United States expressed its concerns with recent developments, with U.S. President Barack Obama calling on both sides "to try and tamp down rhetoric that may feed violence or anger or misunderstanding."
The U.S. also criticized Israel for using excessive force against Palestinians who committed stabbing, run over and shooting attacks against Israelis.
It also said Israel's construction of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, on lands Israel occupied in 1967 and slated to be part of a future Palestinian state under the two-state solution, had also brought about the escalating violence.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Paris on Sunday that he would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Germany this week to discuss the security situation, and is set to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. No exact times were given for the meetings.
Last week, the Channel 10 news reported that the U.S. administration is trying to organize a summit meeting in Jordan, in which Netanyahu and Abbas will meet with Kerry separately in order to try to lower the flames in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Kerry was at the forefront of efforts to reach a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians between July 2013 and April 2014.
