Israeli prime minister warns that military action against Iran will become increasingly difficult over time
Netanyahu has issued warnings about the Iranian nuclear threat for the past 20 years
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Tuesday that taking military action against Iran’s nuclear program will only become more difficult over time, with Tehran increasingly fortifying its controversial nuclear sites.
Netanyahu addressed participants at the Hartog National Security Conference in Tel Aviv to discuss growing international concerns over revelations that Iran has begun enriching uranium to 84%, which is close to the 90% weapons-grade level.
“The longer you wait, the harder that becomes. We’ve waited very long,” said Netanyahu, who has been issuing warnings about the Iranian nuclear threat for the past 20 years.
The Israeli premier expressed his view on how to prevent extremist regimes from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“The only thing that has credibly stopped rogue nations from developing nuclear weapons is a credible military threat or credible military action,” he said.
While recognizing the importance of strong economic sanctions by the United States and other powers, Netanyahu stressed that economic pressure alone would not cause the ayatollah regime to give up its nuclear arms ambitions.
“You can couple that with crippling economic sanctions, but that’s not a sufficient condition. A necessary condition, and an often sufficient condition, is credible military action,” he said.
Netanyahu reminded the audience that Iraqi and Syrian nuclear ambitions were only neutralized after Israel bombed their nuclear facilities in 1981 and 2007. He also said that peace with Saudi Arabia and stopping a nuclear Iran are two sides of the same coin.
“I think we’ve, we can have, a quantum leap if the Saudi leadership decides that it wants to be formally part of this. Informally, they’re part of this,” he said.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
