BRUSSELS — Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke yesterday on the phone with US President Joe Biden, expressing Israel’s growing concerns over the emerging nuclear deal with Iran. For a week Lapid’s office had tried to coordinate a call with the American leader, but was reportedly told that the president was in Delaware on family vacation.

After the 45-minute phone call, Lapid tweeted, “I just had a long conversation with my friend @POTUS. I thanked him for his deep commitment to Israel’s security. We discussed the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program and terrorist activity. Israel and the US are resolute in our shared commitment to prevent a nuclear Iran.”

A statement from Lapid’s office said the two leaders spoke “at length” about the ongoing negotiations to reach a nuclear deal with Iran “and their shared commitment to stop Iran’s progress toward nuclear weapons.” It also said Lapid and Biden discussed “Iran’s terrorist activities in the Middle East and beyond.”

The conversation between the two leaders came just as European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was hopeful a new deal with Iran could be concluded very soon. Speaking after the European Union’s informal meeting of foreign ministers in Prague, Borrell said, “I am hoping that in the coming days we are not going to lose this momentum and we can close the deal. It’s clear that there is a common ground, that we have an agreement that takes into account, I think, everyone’s concerns.”