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Barack Obama and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu have stressed their shared, tough stance towards Iran, as the US leader makes his first visit to Israel as president, BBC reported. 

Speaking in Jerusalem, the two leaders said they agreed that Israel had the right to "defend itself by itself."

The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

On Thursday, Mr Obama meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

Mr Obama arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday afternoon, as was greeted at Ben Gurion airport by Mr Netanyahu and Israeli President Shimon Peres.

He was taken immediately to see a missile battery that forms part of Israel's Iron Dome defence system against rocket attacks, before visiting Mr Peres at his official residence.

On Thursday, he will visit the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, before delivering a major speech to Israeli students in Jerusalem. He will leave for Jordan on Friday.

Following talks in Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu said the fact the US president had made Israel the first foreign visit of his second term was "deeply, deeply appreciated."

He thanked Mr Obama for "the investment you have made in our relationship and in strengthening the alliance between our countries."

Mr Netanyahu praised the president for his stance on Iran, saying he was "absolutely convinced" that Mr Obama was determined to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear armed state.

He said they agreed it would take Iran about a year to produce such a weapon, and Mr Obama said there was "not a lot of daylight" between their assessments of Tehran's nuclear programme.

On Syria, Mr Netanyahu said he and President Obama shared the same goal of seeing a stable and peaceful country emerge, and that they were determined to prevent Syria's chemical weapons from falling into "terrorist hands."