Kahlon to Mnuchin: Thanks for support of Israel’s defense of northern border

Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday, thanking him for “for supporting Israel’s right to defend our northern border from terror” and for imposing sanctions on anti-Israel actors such as Iran.

The Israel Defense Forces launched “Operation Northern Shield” on Tuesday to discover and eliminate attack tunnels constructed by Hezbollah from Lebanon to the Jewish state.

“Excellent meeting with @stevenmnuchin1 on economic and strategic issues. I thanked Secretary Mnuchin for supporting Israel’s right to defend our northern border from terror,” tweeted Kahlon. “We discussed further enhancement of sanctions in order to protect Israeli and U.S security interests.”

Recently, the Treasury Department reimposed sanctions lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in addition to slapping on new financial penalties related to Iran and its leading support for terrorism.

Kahlon is also in Washington as Israel’s representative at the Wednesday funeral for former President George H.W. Bush, who died late on Friday at the age of 94, at the Washington National Cathedral.

“Former President George H.W. Bush was a true friend of Israel,” posted Kahlon on Twitter. “His huge contribution to the strong relationship between our countries will forever be remembered. Our heart goes out to the American people, who have lost a great leader.”