JERUSALEM — US Vice President Joe Biden expressed America’s “absolute, total, unvarnished commitment to Israel’s security” at a press conference in Jerusalem following a meeting with Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, March 8.

As such, Biden said, Washington was “determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and we are working with many countries around the world to convince Iran to meet its international obligations to cease and desist.”

The cornerstone of the US-Israel relationship, Biden said, was America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.

“Bibi you heard me say before, progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there is simply no space between the US and Israel. There is no space between the US and Israel when it comes to Israel’s security.”

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden, President Obama’s big picture guy, is set to draw it for the Israelis next week in a major address: Confront Iran internationally, talk peace regionally.

Bold strokes, but already Biden’s initiative is being dogged by scribbly little details — timing on Iran, building in Jerusalem, restoration in the West Bank, and just how far apart will Israelis and the Palestinians sit.

Biden met Tuesday, March 2, with pro-Israel leaders and the White House’s top Middle East staffers, evidently in a bid to see how he can smoothe the picture’s corners before heading to Israel. The meeting, at the vice president’s home, was hush-hush — a sign of how vexing some of the problems have been.

Among them: