Speaking to members of the National Security College at the Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu slammed the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that only he was against it at the time.
By MENACHEM SHLOMOPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the graduation ceremony of the Israeli Air Force's newest pilots, June 2019(photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)
Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the only army ready to combat Iran is the IDF.Speaking to members of the National Security College at the Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu slammed the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that only he was against it at the time."The only thing that the terrible nuclear agreement gave is a strong and sweeping rapprochement with major Arab countries," Netanyahu said. "Iran says simply: 'We will destroy you and destroy you first by nuclear weapons.'""I had to fight alone to block the nuclear agreement," Netanyahu lamented. "I had to fight against all the powers and against the president of the United States - I went to the American Congress."I thought that this agreement would not only pave the way for a nuclear arsenal, but would also give them hundreds of billions of dollars that they would not invest in Iran, but would invest in their empire. Today you can judge whether we were right or not. So first of all, you have to stop it," he said. "At the moment, the only army in the world to fight Iran - this is the Israeli army."Netanyahu's comments come as Iran says it is open for talks with the United States as long as it lifts its punishing sanctions on the country.Washington accused Iran of extortion after it inched past the deal's limit on enrichment levels last week, while still offering to hold talks with Tehran.Two sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday that the United States has granted a visa to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to attend a U.N. meeting in New York this week, saying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had approved the decision.
