‘’I'm very pleased to welcome you to 10 Downing Street, particularly in the year in which we recognized the Balfour Declaration,” said British Prime Minister Theresa May who hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

‘’The UK remains a very strong and close friend of Israel, with lots of areas in which we already work together, such as science and trade, but also other areas like security," she said, highlighting the numerous areas in which there is close bilateral cooperation.

"There are a multiple areas that we can add to that, looking to the future, and I'm sure we will talk about that and how we'll continue building our relationship today, but we'll also talk about some issues around the region, such as Syria and Iran, and the whole question of the future of the middle east."

She also reiterated “the UK’s firm commitment to a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians as the best way to bring stability and peace to the region” as well as the British “opposition to settlement activity”.

In his opening remarks to the media, Netanyahu told reporters that “Iran seeks to annihilate Israel, it seeks to conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, it threatens the west, it threatens the world”. He praised the US’ introduction of new sanctions on Iran last week and urged “other nations should follow suit, certainly responsible nations”.

Netanyahu assured May that “we share with you the desire for peace… this is our dream from day one: We will never give up on our quest for peace with all of our neighbours”.

Following the meeting, a Downing Street statement said that May and Netanyahu had agreed to establish a new UK-Israel Trade Working Group “to continue the progress we have seen in our burgeoning trade and investment relationship, and to prepare the ground for a post-Brexit trade agreement”.

On Iran, Downing Street said: “The Prime Minister was clear that the nuclear deal is vital and must be properly enforced and policed, while recognising concerns about Iran’s pattern of destabilising activity in the region.”

The statement also said that May and Netanyahu are committed to developing the existing “strong ties” in “a wide range of areas, from trade and investment, to innovation and technology, and defence and security”.