Netanyahu: Israel should be vehemently opposing the Iran Deal rather than mediating in Ukraine

Netanyahu on Monday lambasted the government for what he called its “silence” vis-à-vis the emerging nuclear deal with Iran,

By  Yehuda Shlezinger, ISRAEL HAYOM     03-08-2022

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday lambasted the government for what he called its “silence” vis-à-vis the emerging nuclear deal with Iran, saying their actions are “engendering Israel’s future.”

Speaking during a Likud faction meeting, Netanyahu asserted that “the Bennett-Gantz-Lapid government shows only weakness, weakness, and more weakness. They have capitulated to the US administration when agreeing to a policy of zero surprises – meaning that Israel will not act against the Iranian nuclear program without first coordinating it with the Americans, who will undoubtedly oppose such action and may even jeopardize things by leaking them.”

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz “are doing nothing against the dangerous deal currently being formed in Vienna. This should be the government’s priority right now – vehemently opposing this dangerous deal.

“Russian envoy to the Vienna talks Mikhail Ulyanov said this week that ‘the Iranians got more than they asked for – they are fighting like lions over every word and every comma.’ And over here? No one is fighting. The Iranians are fighting like lions while Bennett, Lapid and Gantz are surrendering like rabbits,” Netanyahu exclaimed.

Criticizing the government further, he said that Israel’s “silence at this time – except for some meaningless pro forma statements — knocks the wind out the sails of our friends in the US who oppose this deal. If they don’t see or hear Israel oppose it – why should they? Why should they try to repeal it later on?

“It was our persistent objection that helped the US exit the previous agreement. The government’s silence undermines the legitimization for any future Israeli action against Iran’s nuclear facilities,” he said.

Taking aim at Bennett over his efforts to mediate in the Ukraine-Russia crisis, the former prime minister stressed that the Iran deal is “what the government must be dealing with now. They [Bennett, Lapid and Gantz] are simply not ready to confront even our allies.”