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Iran remains the greatest threat to Israel’s existence, says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned once again of the aggression posed by Iran and its proxies across the Middle East, while emphasizing that Israel “will not allow the Islamic Republic to develop nuclear weapons or entrench itself militarily in Israel’s northern neighbor, Syria. In an address to the IDF’s pilots’ course graduation ceremony, the Israeli leader pointed to Iran’s deteriorating economy, which according to Netanyahu ‘is caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s historic decision to quit the nuclear agreement.’ Furthermore, the Prime Minister stressed that while many countries around the world warned of a reality, in which the Iranian nation would unite around the Ayatollah regime in the face of new American sanctions, the mass public demonstrations across Iran clearly proves to the contrary. “States and companies are abandoning the Iranian market and the mass demonstrations in Iran show that our efforts to put Iran in its place are bearing fruit. It was not always like this. At first, we stood alone in our opposition to the bad nuclear agreement with Iran, an agreement which financed its expansionist and aggressive designs. But it is good that we did not slacken because President Trump’s historic decision to quit the nuclear agreement is creating a strategic turnaround in Israel’s strategic situation. Iran is caught in an economic upheaval as a result of the re-imposing of sanctions against it. The great flow of money into its coffers has come to a screeching halt. The Iranian people are feeling in their pockets the consequences of the fundamentalist fanaticism of their rulers. This is in complete contrast to what the international experts said. Not only has the re-imposing of sanctions not united the Iranian public around the regime, the complete opposite is happening. Many in Iran understand that the regime of the ayatollahs is wasting precious resources on foreign military subversion instead of investing in civilian needs at home,” Netanyahu said.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who repeatedly warns of Iran’s malign activities in many of his public addresses, said that he continues to point to the dangers of the Islamic republic, because it remains the greatest threat to Israel’s existence. “I am speaking about Iran because it is the greatest threat to our existence and we are determined to block this threat. It is too early to say how things will develop but the direction is clear: The cash machine of Iran’s aggression has been shattered. And we, the IDF, including the Air Force, will continue to take strong action against Iranian targets in the area. We will defend our borders, our sovereignty and the security of our citizens with uncompromising determination. We will continue to operate at close and longer ranges, both openly and in secret, against those who seek our lives,” Netanyahu said.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov claimed that, contrary to Israeli claims, Iran’s military presence in Syria was limited. in an interview to Israeli media, the Russian deputy Foreign Minister asserted that there was no justification for Israel’s air strikes on Syrian sovereign territory, further warning that these air strikes contravened international accords and served only to strengthen terrorism.