Netanyahu: Israel’s main problem is “Iran, Iran, Iran”
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discusses Israel’s national security and US foreign policy before a critical election. Netanyahu spoke to Fox News Digital after the release of his new memoir “Bibi: My Story”.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the US to reconsider a nuclear deal with Iran as any fund could end up helping Russia support its invasion of Ukraine.
“I believe we should impose heavy sanctions on Iran, and those who advocate lifting sanctions, which is what this nuclear deal would do if it were ever signed, would bring hundreds of billions of dollars not just to Iran, but to Russia’s coffers. also, “Netanyahu told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
“So people say: ‘Let’s take a tough stand against Russia’ – [it’s] actually taking a soft stance when they are willing to lift sanctions against Iran, “added Netanyahu, who just published his memoir,” Bibi: My Story. “” I would be much more consistent on that. “
Israeli elections in two weeks will decide whether Netanyahu will return as prime minister after narrowly losing his seat two years to a coalition of opposition parties. Netanyahu says he approaches the election “assuming” he will lose, but current polls show a slight majority in his favor. The Israelis will go to the polls on November 1st.
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Netanyahu said his first goal, if he were to return as prime minister, would be to “complete the circle of peace” that began with the Arab nations when he and then-President Trump initiated four peace deals that included the agreements. of Abraham and the next stage would be to bring to Saudi Arabia.
Former President Donald Trump meets then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)
((AP Photo / Alex Brandon))
“The Abraham accords would not have happened without Saudi tacit approval,” Netanyahu explained. “I will also tell you that two years before the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2018, Saudi Arabia opened its skies, its airspace to flights from Israel to the Gulf countries: hundreds of thousands of Israelis crossed the airspace. Saudi Arabia to land in Dubai and Abu Dhabi or Bahrain “.
“Obviously, there was a readiness there for progress,” he added.
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But he stressed that the biggest problem Israel faces today is “Iran, Iran, Iran” and that “all other challenges pale in comparison.”
“If we are threatened by a regime that calls for our destruction, which is armed with the weapons of mass death, it is something I am committed to. [handling]”He said.
The cover of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s new memoir, covering his military service, work in politics and insights into his career.
(Courtesy of Simon & Schuster)
Netanyahu said Middle East peace and progress towards further peace accords hinged on Israel’s willingness to confront Iran. Part of that opposition includes the rejection of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, which defined a policy aimed at “containing a nuclear Iran” rather than a policy that could “prevent” a nuclear Iran.
“This is a tragic mistake for the world and for America,” Netanyahu pointed out. “Don’t let the ayatollahs have nuclear weapons. Don’t let them become a threshold state that may be weeks away from developing nuclear weapons.”
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“If you have to deal with them, deal with them, because later, when they have nuclear weapons, it will be much more difficult to do, as you can find out from the events taking place in other parts of the world,” he added.
Iran’s activities have begun to expand beyond the Middle East now that Russia has started using the Iranian Shahed-136 drone and Tehran has sent members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps to train Russian troops in the use of weapons – one partnership that Netanyahu called “horrible”.
FILE – This undated photograph released by the Ukrainian Army’s Directorate of Strategic Communications shows the wreckage of what Kiev described as a downed Iranian Shahed drone near Kupiansk, Ukraine. As protests rage at home, the theocratic government of Iran is increasingly showing its military muscle abroad. This includes delivering drones to Russia that are now killing Ukrainian civilians, carrying out exercises in a border region with Azerbaijan, and bombing Kurdish positions in Iraq. (Directorate of Strategic Communications of the Ukrainian Army via AP, file)
(Directorate of Strategic Communications of the Ukrainian Army via AP, file)
“I think it’s horrible, and yes, we would like to thwart these drones, “Netanyahu said.” They actually try to infiltrate Israeli airspace with these drones, and [we] turn them off. They would use them with happy abandon if they could, but let’s take measures against them. “
“But it just tells you … two things, actually, about this regime,” he continued. “One is the use of these deadly drones against civilians, which Iran voluntarily allowed to happen; and, secondly, look at what is happening in Iran itself – when people thought of giving Iran a nuclear deal. which was essentially leading the way with hundreds of billions of dollars to build a nuclear arsenal, to build the ICBM, ICBMs for nuclear warheads … for a regime that oppresses its people. “
Netanyahu took the opportunity to speak well of the Iranian people – “especially the brave women” – who were protesting against the regime following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22.
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“They are saying, ‘We want our freedom, we want the freedom to decide what we publish, what we want on our heads, what we say, how we live,” he said. “What courage. What an indomitable spirit.”
