2 oct 2018
In apparent response to Netanyahu's speech at the UN, in which he revealed a 'secret atomic warehouse' in Iran, IAEA says 'All information obtained, including from third parties, is subject to rigorous review,' adding inspectors sent to suspected nuclear sites 'only when needed.'
The UN nuclear watchdog has said its independence is paramount and it does not take intelligence presented to it at face value, in an apparent response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's description of a "secret atomic warehouse" in Iran.
"The agency sends inspectors to sites and locations only when needed. The agency uses all safeguards relevant to information available to it but it does not take any information at face value," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano said in a statement on Tuesday.
Amano's statement made no specific reference to Israel or the statement but it is his first public pronouncement since Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations General Assembly last week.
He said the IAEA has carried out so-called complementary access inspections, which are often at short notice, at all locations in Iran it has needed to visit.
"All information obtained, including from third parties, is subject to rigorous review and assessed together with other available information to arrive at an independent assessment based on the agency's own expertise," Amano said.
"In order to maintain credibility, the agency's independence in relation to the implementation of verification activities is of paramount importance," he added.
During a speech at the UN, Netanyahu revealed “another secret atomic facility” in Iran, some four months after he presented what he said was “conclusive proof” of a secret project underway in Iran for the development of nuclear weapons.
“What I’m about to say has not been shown publicly before ... Today I’m revealing the site of a second facility, Iran’s secret atomic warehouse,” he said.
The new site Netanyahu identified sits a short distance from Shourabad, where the Mossad pinched a trove of documents and evidence showing that Iran had archived its nuclear materials despite the nuclear deal.
“When I spoke here 3 years ago Israel stood alone among the nations. Of the nearly 200 countries that sit in this hall, only Israel openly opposed the nuclear deal with Iran. We oppose it because it threatens our future, even our very survival,” the prime minister said.
“We opposed it because the deal paved Iran’s path to a nuclear arsenal and the lifting of the sanction has fueled Iran’s campaign of carnage and conquest throughout the Middle East. We opposed it because the deal was based on a fundamental lie … Israel exposed that lie.”
Continuing what has become a traditional characteristic of presenting visuals during his UN speeches, Netanyahu said “Let me show you exactly what the secret atomic warehouse looks like. Here it is,” while holding up a picture of satellite and up-close images.
According to Netanyahu, the second secret site was right near a rug-cleaning store, which he quipped may now be radioactive.
The prime minister also claimed the site contained some 15kg (33 pounds) of radioactive material that has now been moved as part of Iranian attempts to hide evidence of its nuclear weapons program.
Iran dismissed Netanyahu's claims as laughable. “The world will only laugh loudly at this type of false, meaningless and unnecessary speech and false shows,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, according to Fars News.
Qassemi said Netanyahu's accusation was "not worth talking about."
"These farcical claims and the show by the prime minister of the occupying regime (Israel) were not unexpected," he added.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that there should be more scrutiny on Israel’s nuclear program and derided the visuals presented by the prime minister.
“No arts & craft show will ever obfuscate that Israel is only regime in our region with a ‘secret’ and ‘undeclared’ nuclear weapons program—including an ‘actual atomic arsenal,’” Zarif wrote on Twitter.
“Time for Israel to fess up and open its illegal nuclear weapons program to international inspectors,” he added.
The UN nuclear watchdog has said its independence is paramount and it does not take intelligence presented to it at face value, in an apparent response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's description of a "secret atomic warehouse" in Iran.
"The agency sends inspectors to sites and locations only when needed. The agency uses all safeguards relevant to information available to it but it does not take any information at face value," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano said in a statement on Tuesday.
Amano's statement made no specific reference to Israel or the statement but it is his first public pronouncement since Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations General Assembly last week.
He said the IAEA has carried out so-called complementary access inspections, which are often at short notice, at all locations in Iran it has needed to visit.
"All information obtained, including from third parties, is subject to rigorous review and assessed together with other available information to arrive at an independent assessment based on the agency's own expertise," Amano said.
"In order to maintain credibility, the agency's independence in relation to the implementation of verification activities is of paramount importance," he added.
During a speech at the UN, Netanyahu revealed “another secret atomic facility” in Iran, some four months after he presented what he said was “conclusive proof” of a secret project underway in Iran for the development of nuclear weapons.
“What I’m about to say has not been shown publicly before ... Today I’m revealing the site of a second facility, Iran’s secret atomic warehouse,” he said.
The new site Netanyahu identified sits a short distance from Shourabad, where the Mossad pinched a trove of documents and evidence showing that Iran had archived its nuclear materials despite the nuclear deal.
“When I spoke here 3 years ago Israel stood alone among the nations. Of the nearly 200 countries that sit in this hall, only Israel openly opposed the nuclear deal with Iran. We oppose it because it threatens our future, even our very survival,” the prime minister said.
“We opposed it because the deal paved Iran’s path to a nuclear arsenal and the lifting of the sanction has fueled Iran’s campaign of carnage and conquest throughout the Middle East. We opposed it because the deal was based on a fundamental lie … Israel exposed that lie.”
Continuing what has become a traditional characteristic of presenting visuals during his UN speeches, Netanyahu said “Let me show you exactly what the secret atomic warehouse looks like. Here it is,” while holding up a picture of satellite and up-close images.
According to Netanyahu, the second secret site was right near a rug-cleaning store, which he quipped may now be radioactive.
The prime minister also claimed the site contained some 15kg (33 pounds) of radioactive material that has now been moved as part of Iranian attempts to hide evidence of its nuclear weapons program.
Iran dismissed Netanyahu's claims as laughable. “The world will only laugh loudly at this type of false, meaningless and unnecessary speech and false shows,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, according to Fars News.
Qassemi said Netanyahu's accusation was "not worth talking about."
"These farcical claims and the show by the prime minister of the occupying regime (Israel) were not unexpected," he added.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that there should be more scrutiny on Israel’s nuclear program and derided the visuals presented by the prime minister.
“No arts & craft show will ever obfuscate that Israel is only regime in our region with a ‘secret’ and ‘undeclared’ nuclear weapons program—including an ‘actual atomic arsenal,’” Zarif wrote on Twitter.
“Time for Israel to fess up and open its illegal nuclear weapons program to international inspectors,” he added.
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20 sept 2018
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and PM Benjamin Netanyahu
At IAEA conference, Israel’s atomic agency head Ze'ev Snir says 'Iran's threats prompt Israel to act in order to protect its nuclear sites;' Iran UN Amb. Gholamali Khoshrou says Israel's nuclear program must be supervised.
Head of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), Ze'ev Snir, said Israel cannot ignore Iran and its proxies' repeated threats to attack its nuclear sites at the 62nd conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna Tuesday.
"Those threats prompt Israel to act in order to protect its nuclear sites," Snir stated.
"The continuing turmoil in the region, threatens peace and security worldwide, and demands global attention.
"The IAEA must conduct a robust verification of Iran's clandestine activities. The covert Iranian nuclear weapons program is a documented fact," he went on to say.
"The new information recently revealed by Israel, conclusively proves, that Iranian activities, were part of a well-orchestrated plan, to continue the development of nuclear weapons.
"In light of these destabilizing elements, we cannot ignore the repeated and explicit threats, made by Iran and its proxies, to attack Israel's nuclear sites," the IAEC head explained.
Security Cabinet member and Knesset member Minister Yisrael Katz said in an interview with Ynet Israel is constantly threatened by Iran.
"(Iran's) regime is attempting to carry out a revolution, to threaten Israel, to threaten Saudi Arabia, and everyone in the region who is not Shi'ite," he said.
"Obviously, (we are the ones mainly threatened—ed) since we are the powerful country that keeps Iran at bay. We know we have to protect our strategic locations," Katz elaborated.
"We should pose a threat to Iran and cerate a deterrence against it," he added.
It is the first time Israel has acknowledged it is reinforcing security around its nuclear reactor in Dimona.
Until now, the IAEA viewed the protection of the nuclear reactor in Dimona as a precaution against pollution rather than protection against military and terror threats.
Meanwhile, Iran has asked the United Nations to condemn Israeli threats against Tehran and to bring Israel's nuclear program under its supervision, state media reported on Thursday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a visit to a secretive Israeli atomic reactor in late August to warn the country's enemies that it has the means to destroy them, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to its assumed nuclear arsenal.
"The United Nations' members should not turn a blind eye to these threats and must take firms actions to eliminate all Israeli nuclear weapons," Fars news agency quoted Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshrou as saying in letters to the UN secretary general and the Security Council.
Khoshrou asked the United Nations to force Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and bring its nuclear program under supervision of the IAEA, a UN atomic watchdog.
Israel, which is outside the NPT, neither confirms nor denies having the bomb, a decades-old ambiguity policy that it says keeps hostile neighbours in check while avoiding the kind of public provocations that can spark regional arms races.
Israel is trying to lobby world powers to follow the United States in exiting their 2015 deal with Iran that capped the Islamic Republic's nuclear capabilities in return for lifting of sanctions.
The Israelis deem the agreement insufficient for denying their arch-foe the means to eventually get the bomb—something that Tehran, which is a signatory to the 1970 NPT, denies wanting.
Since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has preached Israel's destruction. It backs the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah and the Palestinian terror group Hamas. Its reinforcement of Damascus during Syria's civil war is seen by the Netanyahu government as a further Iranian deployment on Israel's borders.
In Late April, Netanyahu revealed what he said was “conclusive proof” of a secret project underway in Iran for the development of a nuclear weapon—evidence that he said proved that Tehran had lied “big time” to the international community.
Israel had obtained, he said, in a “great intelligence achievement,” secrets comprising a giant trove of documents and digital information pertaining to Iran's clandestine Amad nuclear weapons project whose goal was “creating nuclear weapons”
The evidence, Netanyahu posited, prove “Iran has been hiding for years from the international community” its nuclear weapons development program.
In August 2017, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah marked 11 years to the Second Lebanon War with a speech in which he threatened that "the defeat Israel suffered in 2006, it will suffer again, but it will be a much greater defeat."
Nasrallah argued that Israel recognized Hezbollah's strength, "an example of that is the evacuation of the ammonia tank in Haifa. We hope they examine moving the nuclear reactor in Dimona as well, as it is more dangerous and needs to be taken care of."
During operation Protective Edge, Israel intercepted three rockets that were launched at Dimona.
At IAEA conference, Israel’s atomic agency head Ze'ev Snir says 'Iran's threats prompt Israel to act in order to protect its nuclear sites;' Iran UN Amb. Gholamali Khoshrou says Israel's nuclear program must be supervised.
Head of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), Ze'ev Snir, said Israel cannot ignore Iran and its proxies' repeated threats to attack its nuclear sites at the 62nd conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna Tuesday.
"Those threats prompt Israel to act in order to protect its nuclear sites," Snir stated.
"The continuing turmoil in the region, threatens peace and security worldwide, and demands global attention.
"The IAEA must conduct a robust verification of Iran's clandestine activities. The covert Iranian nuclear weapons program is a documented fact," he went on to say.
"The new information recently revealed by Israel, conclusively proves, that Iranian activities, were part of a well-orchestrated plan, to continue the development of nuclear weapons.
"In light of these destabilizing elements, we cannot ignore the repeated and explicit threats, made by Iran and its proxies, to attack Israel's nuclear sites," the IAEC head explained.
Security Cabinet member and Knesset member Minister Yisrael Katz said in an interview with Ynet Israel is constantly threatened by Iran.
"(Iran's) regime is attempting to carry out a revolution, to threaten Israel, to threaten Saudi Arabia, and everyone in the region who is not Shi'ite," he said.
"Obviously, (we are the ones mainly threatened—ed) since we are the powerful country that keeps Iran at bay. We know we have to protect our strategic locations," Katz elaborated.
"We should pose a threat to Iran and cerate a deterrence against it," he added.
It is the first time Israel has acknowledged it is reinforcing security around its nuclear reactor in Dimona.
Until now, the IAEA viewed the protection of the nuclear reactor in Dimona as a precaution against pollution rather than protection against military and terror threats.
Meanwhile, Iran has asked the United Nations to condemn Israeli threats against Tehran and to bring Israel's nuclear program under its supervision, state media reported on Thursday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a visit to a secretive Israeli atomic reactor in late August to warn the country's enemies that it has the means to destroy them, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to its assumed nuclear arsenal.
"The United Nations' members should not turn a blind eye to these threats and must take firms actions to eliminate all Israeli nuclear weapons," Fars news agency quoted Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshrou as saying in letters to the UN secretary general and the Security Council.
Khoshrou asked the United Nations to force Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and bring its nuclear program under supervision of the IAEA, a UN atomic watchdog.
Israel, which is outside the NPT, neither confirms nor denies having the bomb, a decades-old ambiguity policy that it says keeps hostile neighbours in check while avoiding the kind of public provocations that can spark regional arms races.
Israel is trying to lobby world powers to follow the United States in exiting their 2015 deal with Iran that capped the Islamic Republic's nuclear capabilities in return for lifting of sanctions.
The Israelis deem the agreement insufficient for denying their arch-foe the means to eventually get the bomb—something that Tehran, which is a signatory to the 1970 NPT, denies wanting.
Since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has preached Israel's destruction. It backs the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah and the Palestinian terror group Hamas. Its reinforcement of Damascus during Syria's civil war is seen by the Netanyahu government as a further Iranian deployment on Israel's borders.
In Late April, Netanyahu revealed what he said was “conclusive proof” of a secret project underway in Iran for the development of a nuclear weapon—evidence that he said proved that Tehran had lied “big time” to the international community.
Israel had obtained, he said, in a “great intelligence achievement,” secrets comprising a giant trove of documents and digital information pertaining to Iran's clandestine Amad nuclear weapons project whose goal was “creating nuclear weapons”
The evidence, Netanyahu posited, prove “Iran has been hiding for years from the international community” its nuclear weapons development program.
In August 2017, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah marked 11 years to the Second Lebanon War with a speech in which he threatened that "the defeat Israel suffered in 2006, it will suffer again, but it will be a much greater defeat."
Nasrallah argued that Israel recognized Hezbollah's strength, "an example of that is the evacuation of the ammonia tank in Haifa. We hope they examine moving the nuclear reactor in Dimona as well, as it is more dangerous and needs to be taken care of."
During operation Protective Edge, Israel intercepted three rockets that were launched at Dimona.
1 sept 2018
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech Wednesday at the Dimona nuclear plant, the site and symbol of Israel’s nuclear weapon capacity, and warned Iran and other regional rivals against taking Israel on.
The weak crumble, are slaughtered and are erased from history while the strong, for good or for ill, survive. The strong are respected, and alliances are made with the strong, and in the end peace is made with the strong…
But our enemies know very well what Israel is capable of doing. They are familiar with our policy. Whoever tries to hurt us—we hurt them.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Iran was being “threatened with atomic annihilation by a warmonger standing next to an actual nuclear weapons factory.”
Netanyahu’s comments were widely derided on twitter as fascistic. Some quoted Adolf Hitler’s speech in Munich in 1923 at a time when he was gaining a following:
“The whole of nature is a mighty struggle between strength and weakness, an eternal victory of the strong over the weak.”
Norman Finkelstein writes, “According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism–” which is now being embraced by political leaders in the U.S. and Britain — “’drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis’ is taboo.
“Does this mean that the obvious juxtaposition of Netanyahu’s and Hitler’s words is antisemitic? Put otherwise, whose fault is it if Netanyahu sounds like Hitler?”
The weak crumble, are slaughtered and are erased from history while the strong, for good or for ill, survive. The strong are respected, and alliances are made with the strong, and in the end peace is made with the strong…
But our enemies know very well what Israel is capable of doing. They are familiar with our policy. Whoever tries to hurt us—we hurt them.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Iran was being “threatened with atomic annihilation by a warmonger standing next to an actual nuclear weapons factory.”
Netanyahu’s comments were widely derided on twitter as fascistic. Some quoted Adolf Hitler’s speech in Munich in 1923 at a time when he was gaining a following:
“The whole of nature is a mighty struggle between strength and weakness, an eternal victory of the strong over the weak.”
Norman Finkelstein writes, “According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism–” which is now being embraced by political leaders in the U.S. and Britain — “’drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis’ is taboo.
“Does this mean that the obvious juxtaposition of Netanyahu’s and Hitler’s words is antisemitic? Put otherwise, whose fault is it if Netanyahu sounds like Hitler?”
30 aug 2018
After PM Netanyahu says, "Our enemies know very well what Israel is capable of, they know our policy, and anyone who tries to harm us—we will harm them," during his speech at Negev Nuclear Research Center, Iran's Foreign Affairs Minister Zarif slams him tweeting 'Beyond shameless is the gall.'
Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday, calling him a "warmonger," in reference to the prime minister's remarks during his speech at the Negev Nuclear Research Center.
"Iran, a country without nuclear weapons, is threatened with atomic annihilation by a warmonger standing next to an actual nuclear weapons factory. Beyond shameless is the gall," Zarif tweeted.
Earlier on Wednesday, during a ceremony to rename the Negev Nuclear Research Center after the late Israeli statesman Shimon Peres, Netanyahu warned the country's enemies that Israel has the means to destroy them. "Those who threaten to wipe Israel out, put themselves in a similar danger, and in any event will not achieve their goal."
"Our enemies know very well what Israel is capable of, they know our policy, and anyone who tries to harm us—we will harm them," the prime minister added.
Netanyahu stressed the necessity for Israel to stand strong in the face of its enemies. "In the Middle East, and in many parts of the world, there is a simple truth—there is no place for the weak. The weak are collapsing, slaughtered, erased from history, and the strong, for better or for worse, are the ones who survive. The strong are respected, the strong enter into alliances, and ultimately the strong make peace."
Netanyahu also referred to the agreement between Iran and Syria saying, "the IDF will continue acting with full determination and with full might against Iran's attempts to station forces and advanced weapons systems in Syria, and no agreement between Syria and Iran will deter us, nor will any threat frighten us."
In addition, the prime minister addressed the Iranian presence in Syria: "We are working to prevent Iran's military entrenchment in Syria. We will not let go of this goal, just as we did not let go of the effort to bring about the cancellation of the nuclear deal with Iran, which was perceived as impossible when I first placed it on the international agenda a few years ago."
Referring to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments about Iran's economic struggles, the prime minister said: "We will continue to apply pressure on the dangerous and extremist regime in Iran. Just yesterday we saw the outcome of this pressure in the words of the Iranian president, who said that many people in Iran have lost their faith in the country's future and its power because of renewed economic sanctions," he concluded.
Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday, calling him a "warmonger," in reference to the prime minister's remarks during his speech at the Negev Nuclear Research Center.
"Iran, a country without nuclear weapons, is threatened with atomic annihilation by a warmonger standing next to an actual nuclear weapons factory. Beyond shameless is the gall," Zarif tweeted.
Earlier on Wednesday, during a ceremony to rename the Negev Nuclear Research Center after the late Israeli statesman Shimon Peres, Netanyahu warned the country's enemies that Israel has the means to destroy them. "Those who threaten to wipe Israel out, put themselves in a similar danger, and in any event will not achieve their goal."
"Our enemies know very well what Israel is capable of, they know our policy, and anyone who tries to harm us—we will harm them," the prime minister added.
Netanyahu stressed the necessity for Israel to stand strong in the face of its enemies. "In the Middle East, and in many parts of the world, there is a simple truth—there is no place for the weak. The weak are collapsing, slaughtered, erased from history, and the strong, for better or for worse, are the ones who survive. The strong are respected, the strong enter into alliances, and ultimately the strong make peace."
Netanyahu also referred to the agreement between Iran and Syria saying, "the IDF will continue acting with full determination and with full might against Iran's attempts to station forces and advanced weapons systems in Syria, and no agreement between Syria and Iran will deter us, nor will any threat frighten us."
In addition, the prime minister addressed the Iranian presence in Syria: "We are working to prevent Iran's military entrenchment in Syria. We will not let go of this goal, just as we did not let go of the effort to bring about the cancellation of the nuclear deal with Iran, which was perceived as impossible when I first placed it on the international agenda a few years ago."
Referring to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments about Iran's economic struggles, the prime minister said: "We will continue to apply pressure on the dangerous and extremist regime in Iran. Just yesterday we saw the outcome of this pressure in the words of the Iranian president, who said that many people in Iran have lost their faith in the country's future and its power because of renewed economic sanctions," he concluded.
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Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s growing unofficial ties with major Arab countries reached an unprecedented and unexpected level.
Netanyahu made his remarks at a ceremony held on Wednesday at the nuclear research facility in Dimona to rename the facility after former Israeli president Shimon Peres. "The process of normalization of major Arab countries with the strong state of Israel is happening before our very eyes, on a scale that would have been impossible to imagine just a few years ago; a process that will hopefully result in peace. But it is impossible to deny the fact that there remain many enemies in this region and beyond,” the premier said, alluding |
to Israel’s discreet relations with Gulf Arab states that see Iran as a common foe.
“In the Middle East, and in many parts of the world, there is a simple truth: there is no place for the weak. The weak are collapsing, slaughtered, erased from history; and the strong, for better or for worse, are the ones who survive. The strong are respected, the strong enter into alliances, and ultimately the strong make peace," he added.
Netanyahu warns Israel’s enemies at nuclear center's ceremony
Speaking at renaming ceremony of the Negev Nuclear Research Center, PM says: ‘anyone who tries to harm us will be harmed'; Referring to the Iran-Syria deal: 'We are determined to prevent Iran's military buildup in Syria, no agreement will deter us.’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona on Wednesday and warned the country's enemies that Israel has the means to destroy them, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to the country's assumed nuclear arsenal.
"Those who threaten to wipe us out, put themselves in a similar danger, and in any event will not achieve their goal," the prime minister said during a ceremony to rename the nuclear research center after the late Israeli statesman Shimon Peres.
"Our enemies know very well what Israel is capable of, they know our policy, and anyone who tries to harm us—we will harm them," Netanyahu added.
The prime minister stressed the necessity for Israel to stand strong in the face of its enemies: "In the Middle East, and in many parts of the world, there is a simple truth: there is no place for the weak. The weak are collapsing, slaughtered, erased from history; and the strong, for better or for worse, are the ones who survive. The strong are respected, the strong enter into alliances, and ultimately the strong make peace."
Netanyahu also referred to the agreement between Iran and Syria saying,"the IDF will continue acting with full determination and with full might against Iran's attempts to station forces and advanced weapons systems in Syria, and no agreement between Syria and Iran will deter us, nor will any threat frighten us."
“We are working to prevent Iran's military buildup in Syria. We will not let go of this goal, just as we did not let go of the effort to bring about the cancellation of the nuclear agreement with Iran, which was perceived as impossible when I first placed it on the international agenda a few years ago," he added.
Israel has carried out scores of attacks against suspected Iranian and Hezbollah emplacements or arms transfers in Syria, while Russia, Damascus's big-power backer, has turned a blind eye.
The prime minister credited the Peres, his predecessor and a Nobel Peace laureate, with setting up the nuclear reactor in the 1950's as part of a vision of "normalization between core countries in the Arab world and the State of Israe.l"
"On the political level, we will continue to apply pressure against the dangerous and extremist regime in Iran. Only yesterday we saw the fruits of this pressure in the words of the Iranian president, who said that many Iranians have lost faith in Iran's future and its strength because of the renewed economic sanctions," he added.
The prime minister also discussed the deepening relations with the moderate Arab states: "The process of normalization of major Arab countries with the strong State of Israel is happening before our very eyes, on a scale that would have been impossible to imagine just a few years ago; a process that will hopefully result in peace. But it is impossible to deny the fact that there remain many enemies in this region and beyond.
“I am not merely using empty slogans, I am describing a consistent, clear and determined policy. This is our strategy and it is backed up with appropriate preparation and ready for the moment an order is issued," Netanyahu concluded.
“In the Middle East, and in many parts of the world, there is a simple truth: there is no place for the weak. The weak are collapsing, slaughtered, erased from history; and the strong, for better or for worse, are the ones who survive. The strong are respected, the strong enter into alliances, and ultimately the strong make peace," he added.
Netanyahu warns Israel’s enemies at nuclear center's ceremony
Speaking at renaming ceremony of the Negev Nuclear Research Center, PM says: ‘anyone who tries to harm us will be harmed'; Referring to the Iran-Syria deal: 'We are determined to prevent Iran's military buildup in Syria, no agreement will deter us.’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona on Wednesday and warned the country's enemies that Israel has the means to destroy them, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to the country's assumed nuclear arsenal.
"Those who threaten to wipe us out, put themselves in a similar danger, and in any event will not achieve their goal," the prime minister said during a ceremony to rename the nuclear research center after the late Israeli statesman Shimon Peres.
"Our enemies know very well what Israel is capable of, they know our policy, and anyone who tries to harm us—we will harm them," Netanyahu added.
The prime minister stressed the necessity for Israel to stand strong in the face of its enemies: "In the Middle East, and in many parts of the world, there is a simple truth: there is no place for the weak. The weak are collapsing, slaughtered, erased from history; and the strong, for better or for worse, are the ones who survive. The strong are respected, the strong enter into alliances, and ultimately the strong make peace."
Netanyahu also referred to the agreement between Iran and Syria saying,"the IDF will continue acting with full determination and with full might against Iran's attempts to station forces and advanced weapons systems in Syria, and no agreement between Syria and Iran will deter us, nor will any threat frighten us."
“We are working to prevent Iran's military buildup in Syria. We will not let go of this goal, just as we did not let go of the effort to bring about the cancellation of the nuclear agreement with Iran, which was perceived as impossible when I first placed it on the international agenda a few years ago," he added.
Israel has carried out scores of attacks against suspected Iranian and Hezbollah emplacements or arms transfers in Syria, while Russia, Damascus's big-power backer, has turned a blind eye.
The prime minister credited the Peres, his predecessor and a Nobel Peace laureate, with setting up the nuclear reactor in the 1950's as part of a vision of "normalization between core countries in the Arab world and the State of Israe.l"
"On the political level, we will continue to apply pressure against the dangerous and extremist regime in Iran. Only yesterday we saw the fruits of this pressure in the words of the Iranian president, who said that many Iranians have lost faith in Iran's future and its strength because of the renewed economic sanctions," he added.
The prime minister also discussed the deepening relations with the moderate Arab states: "The process of normalization of major Arab countries with the strong State of Israel is happening before our very eyes, on a scale that would have been impossible to imagine just a few years ago; a process that will hopefully result in peace. But it is impossible to deny the fact that there remain many enemies in this region and beyond.
“I am not merely using empty slogans, I am describing a consistent, clear and determined policy. This is our strategy and it is backed up with appropriate preparation and ready for the moment an order is issued," Netanyahu concluded.
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