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PM Netanyahu: “Islamic State exits, Iran enters”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a ceremony in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, cited a warning by the country’s intelligence chief, Mossad Director Yossi Cohen, that when the Islamic State is ousted from a territory in Iraq and Syria, Israel’s arch enemy – the Islamic Republic of Iran – steps-in, a reality the Prime Minister declared “Israel vigorously objects to,” emphasizing that Israel’s desire to build and prosper is only possible if its security is preserved.  “Today, we receive a debriefing in the government, by the head of the Mossad, on the security challenges that we (Israel) are facing. I will give a short summary, one sentence, the Islamic state out, Iran in. It’s simple, we are talking mainly about Syria. Our policy is clear, we vehemently oppose the establishment of a military foothold by Iran and its proxies, mainly Hezbollah, in Syria and we will do all that is needed to protect Israel’s security. That is how we operate, and we safeguard the country and its borders, we are strengthening the IDF and security forces constantly in order to safeguard our security, because we know that in order to build the country and prosper in it, we need to secure the country,” Netanyahu said.

Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, Mossad Director Yossi Cohen reviewed the state of affairs in the Middle East, focusing on the entrenchment of Iranian and its proxy forces across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. Cohen ascribed the Shi’ite forces’ success to fill the void that the Western coalition forces’ attacks on Islamic State have produced in the region.

Prime Minister Netanyahu responded to the concerning developments in the region, declaring at the cabinet meeting that the developments described by Cohen are “clear proof that the underlying assumptions in the (nuclear) agreement with Iran were mistaken to begin with.” Netanyahu emphasized that “Israel is not bound in any way to the international agreements that Iran signed,” and “will continue to act resolutely and in a variety of ways to defend itself from those threats.”