Netanyahu Threatens to Act Against Iran, ‘Not Just Against Its Proxies‘
نتنياهو يهدد إيران وليس فقط أذرعتها
Noa Landau (Munich)/Haaretz/ February 18, 2018
In remarks at Munich Security Conference, PM holds up wreckage of Iranian drone intercepted over Israel, warns Iranian FM: ‘Don’t test us’
MUNICH – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned Israel would act against Iran, and not only against its proxies, if needed. “We will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies but against Iran itself,” he said,” Netanyahu told the Munich Security Conference. Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who spoke after Netanyahu, ridiculed the Israeli premier’s remarks and called them ‘a cartoonish circus.’ During his speech, Netanyahu said that Iran was not Nazi Germany, but stated that the two regimes share many similarities. “Israel will not allow the Iranian regime to put a noose of terror around our neck,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu held up a piece of an Iranian drone Israel shot down last week after it infiltrated its territory. Holding the wreckage, Netanyahu asked Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was sitting in the crowd: “Do you recognize it? You should, it’s yours. Don’t test us.”An Iranian drone that crossed into Israeli airspace was intercepted by the Israel Air Force on February 10, sparking a flare-up between Israel and Syria, with an Israeli F-16 shot down and an extensive Israeli strike against Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria.
In a briefing two days later, the Israel Air Force’s second-in-command, Brig. Gen. Tomer Bar, admitted that he still had no idea what mission the Shahed-141 drone was on.
Asked during a questions and answers session about the feasibility of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, the prime minister reiterated he does not support a full Palestinian state, but a “state minus.” Netanyahu said the Palestinians should have self-rule, but not the “freedom to threaten our security.”
‘Do Not Test Israel’, Netanyahu Tells Iran
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 18/18/
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran on Sunday over aggressions by what he called Iran and its “proxies” in Syria, while showing what he claimed was a piece of an Iranian drone shot down in Israeli airspace. Saying he had “a message to the tyrants of Tehran” during a speech at the Munich Security Conference, he warned: “Do not test Israel’s resolve.”He brandished a rectangular piece of dark green metal which he called “a piece of that Iranian drone, or what’s left of it, after we shot it down.” Israel has said it shot down the drone on February 10 after it entered the country from Syria, and responded with a raid on what it said was the Iranian control systems for the craft in Syria. It marked the first time Israel publicly acknowledged hitting Iranian targets in Syria since the 2011 start of the civil war there. During the strikes, one of Israel’s F-16 fighter jets was shot down, believed to be the first loss of an Israeli plane in combat since 1982. Calling Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif the “smooth-talking mouthpiece of Iran’s regime,” Netanyahu said: “Mr Zarif, do you recognise this? You should, it’s yours.”
Again referring to Zarif, who is scheduled to speak later in Munich, the Israeli leader said: “No doubt Mr Zarif will brazenly deny Iran’s involvement in Syria.”
“He lies with eloquence.”
‘Noose of terror’
The Israeli military has claimed the drone was a copy of a U.S. model captured by Iran in 2011, based on an analysis of the drone’s debris. Tensions between the two countries have been building in recent months, with Israel fearing that Tehran is trying to establish a permanent presence in Syria as part of an effort to become a greater regional power in the Middle East. At the same time, Syria appears to feel it now has the upper hand in the civil war and is more emboldened to stop Israeli air raids inside the country, analysts say.
But Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel would not let Iran obtain a permanent foothold in its northern neighbor. “Through its proxies — Shiite militias in Iraq, the Huthis in Yemen, Hizbullah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza — Iran is devouring huge swathes of the Middle East,” he said.
“Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck,” he added.
“We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.” But he stressed that Israel was not the enemy of the Iranian people, and offered his condolences to the families of the 66 people killed in an Iranian plane crash Sunday. “We have no quarrel with the people of Iran, only with the regime that torments them,” Netanyahu said.
‘Do Not Test Israel’s Resolve’, Netanyahu Warns Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran on Sunday over “aggressions” by Iran and its “proxies” in Syria, saying he would not allow them to “put a noose around our neck.”Calling it “a message to the tyrants of Tehran,” he warned in a speech at the Munich Security Conference: “Do not test Israel’s resolve.”
His fiery comments came as tensions between the arch enemies have mounted after clashes involving Syrian forces this month, sparked by Israel’s downing of what it called an Iranian drone sent from Syria. With a theatrical flourish, Netanyahu brandished a rectangular piece of dark green metal at the podium. “Here’s a piece of that Iranian drone, or what’s left of it, after we shot it down,” he said. Referring to Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who spoke later in Munich, he said: “No doubt Mr Zarif will brazenly deny Iran’s involvement in Syria.””Mr Zarif, do you recognise this? You should, it’s yours,” Netanyahu said, adding that the Iranian official “lies with eloquence.”Zarif responded by calling Netanyahu’s speech a “cartoonish circus” which “does not even deserve the dignity of a response.”
‘Dangerous tiger’
The clash came as Netanyahu again slammed the 2015 nuclear deal signed by Iran and world powers, which is under threat by opposition from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Netanyahu compared the deal to the “appeasement” of the 1938 Munich Agreement that only emboldened Hitler, and said it allowed Iran to hide its continued efforts to build an atomic bomb. “The sanctions relief that the deal provided has not moderated Iran… In fact it has unleashed a dangerous Iranian tiger in our region and beyond.”
“Once armed with nuclear weapons, Iran’s aggression will be unchecked, and it will encompass the entire world,” Netanyahu claimed. Those accusations were dismissed by Zarif.
“We will not be the first ones to violate an agreement which all of us tried, in spite of Netanyahu’s attempts, to achieve,” he said. Israel has said it downed the drone on February 10 after it entered the country from Syria, and responded with a raid on what it said was the Iranian control systems for the craft in Syria. It marked the first time Israel publicly acknowledged hitting Iranian targets in Syria since the 2011 start of the civil war there. During the strikes, one of Israel’s F-16 fighter jets was shot down, believed to be the first loss of an Israeli plane in combat since 1982. Tensions between the two countries had already been building in recent months, with Israel fearing that Tehran is trying to establish a permanent presence in Syria as part of an effort to become a greater regional power in the Middle East. The clashes this month have stoked fears of an escalated conflict between the two countries, even though both sides appear to want to avoid an open war for now, analysts say. Russian senator Alexei Pushkov, addressing the Munich conference shortly after Netanyahu spoke, said: “OK, you bomb Iran, and then you do what, what happens next?” while saying the Iranian issue requires acting with “responsibility.”
‘Defend ourselves’ –
It was not the first time Netanyahu, who is under pressure at home over a corruption inquiry, has made a dramatic show. In 2012, speaking at the U.N., he notably showed a simplistic drawing of a bomb with a lit fuse, supposedly indicating how close Tehran was to becoming a nuclear threat. The Israeli military has claimed the drone was a copy of a U.S. model captured by Iran in 2011, based on an analysis of the drone’s debris.
Netanyahu reiterated Sunday that Israel would not let Iran obtain a permanent foothold in its northern neighbor. “Through its proxies — Shiite militias in Iraq, the Huthis in Yemen, Hizbullah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza — Iran is devouring huge swathes of the Middle East,” he said.
“Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck,” he added.
“We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.”
But he stressed that Israel was not the enemy of the Iranian people, and offered his condolences to the families of the people killed in an Iranian plane crash Sunday.
“We have no quarrel with the people of Iran, only with the regime that torments them,” Netanyahu said.
نتنياهو: سنتحرك ضد إيران وليس وكلائها إذا لزم الأمر
الشرق الأوسط/18 شباط/18/قال رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي بنيامين نتنياهو اليوم (الأحد) إن إسرائيل ستتحرك ضد إيران وليس ضد وكلائها فحسب في الشرق الأوسط إذا لزم الأمر، مؤكدا مرة أخرى أن طهران تمثل أكبر تهديد للعالم.
وأضاف نتنياهو في كلمته أمام مؤتمر ميونيخ للأمن، بينما كان يمسك بقطعة قال إنها من طائرة إيرانية من دون طيار بعد دخولها المجال الجوي الإسرائيلي هذا الشهر: «إسرائيل لن تسمح للنظام بلف حبل الإرهاب حول عنقنا». وأضاف: «سنتحرك إذا لزم الأمر ضد إيران نفسها وليس ضد وكلائها فحسب».
وكانت إسرائيل شنت الأسبوع الماضي ضربات جوية على أهداف للنظام السوري وإيران بوسط سوريا وقرب العاصمة دمشق، وذلك في أعقاب إسقاطها لطائرة من دون طيار إيرانية داخل أراضيها. وسقطت مقاتلة إسرائيلية من طراز «إف – 16» مشاركة في الغارات، لكن طياريها أصيبا فقط بجروح.