Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarked on a two day visit to the United Kingdom, where he met this afternoon with his British counterpart, Theresa May, the first such meeting since she took office, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Boris Johnson. Upon departure from Tel Aviv to London, the Israeli leader reiterated his belief, in which the new administration in Washington and the new government in London provide new opportunities, as well as challenges that must be dealt with.
“We are in a period of opportunities and challenges. The opportunities emanate from the fact that there is a new administration in Washington, and a new government in Britain. I intend to speak with both of them on strengthening the relations, between each of them to Israel and also between all three. This is what I will do next week in Washington. And this is what I’m going to do tomorrow in London. The challenges emanate from the fact that the Iranians also understand what I just said. They try to test the limits in extraordinary aggression, with unusual audacity and defiance. I think the most important thing now is that countries like the Unites States, who will lead, but also like Israel and Britain, will stand together against the Iranian aggression and set clear boundaries for it. This will be the first issue among many issues which I will discuss with Britain’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, and of course also with Britain’s foreign Minister, Boris Johnson,” said Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped short of any call for cancelling the nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was signed in July of 2015 by world powers, including the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain plus Germany, an accord that sought to limit Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for crippling sanctions relief, an agreement the Israeli leader defined as a historic mistake. Nevertheless, Israeli officials acknowledged on condition of anonymity, that Netanyahu would not advocate against the nuclear agreement, rather, he would seek international support for new sanctions against the Islamic Republic in response to their ongoing violations pertaining to ballistic missile testing, rockets that are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, as well as Tehran’s ongoing support of internationally recognized terror organizations, operating in the Middle East.