Iran could soon have the capability to launch missiles with nuclear warheads against Europe and the United States unless the international community unites to halt Tehran’s ambitions for a nuclear-weapons program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at a press event with US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien in Jerusalem on Sunday.
“As long as Iran persists in its dangerous quest for nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them, we shouldn’t go back to business as usual with Iran,” he said. “We should all unite to prevent this major threat to world peace.”
Netanyahu made his statement while looking at O’Brien, but his words were aimed at US President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to enter the White House on January 20.
Israel fears Biden will soften the US’s harsh stance against Iran’s program and, in particular, will seek to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran deal, which was signed in 2015 under the Obama administration between Tehran and the six world powers. US President Donald Trump left the deal in 2018.
The world cannot afford to weaken its stance against Iran, Netanyahu told O’Brien.
“Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is still a nasty neighborhood bully,” he said. “But if unchecked, tomorrow Iran will arm with nuclear-tipped ICBM’s [intercontinental ballistic missiles] that can target Europe and America, and it will become a global bully that will endanger everyone.”
Iran “continues to subjugate and threaten its neighbors,” calls “for Israel’s destruction” and “continues to bankroll, equip and train terrorist organizations throughout the region and the world,” Netanyahu said. READ MORE
