The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, threatened to do everything necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and to "crush" all who threaten Israel, reiterating his opposition to the US administration's return to the nuclear agreement with Iran.
During a speech at the memorial ceremony for the death of one of the founding fathers of the Zionist movement, today, Tuesday, Netanyahu said that Israel will do what is necessary to protect its security and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, stressing that he does not place hopes on the agreement that may be re-signed with Iran.
He added that Israel would not accept the Iranian position in Syria, nor would it allow the presence of precision missiles in Syria and Lebanon, saying that whoever threatens Israel "will be our overwhelming response a thousand times over."
Netanyahu also said, "We do not place our hopes on any agreement with an extremist regime like Iran," and he continued, addressing the Iranian leadership, "We have already seen the usefulness of the agreements that were concluded with extremist regimes such as yours over the past century and the current one as well."
In turn, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that Netanyahu held a session of consultations yesterday to discuss the possibility of resuming negotiations between the United States and Iran over the nuclear file, and quoted Israeli sources, who did not specify their name, that "Israel wants to follow a hard-line policy towards the Biden administration."
The sources said that the defense and foreign ministers, Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi, and Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, support taking a moderate stance and initiating a dialogue with the White House.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation added that in recent weeks, Israel has intensified its pressure on European countries.
To prevent a return to the old agreement, and that there is a belief in Israel that Europe is not satisfied with Iran's recent actions.
Opponent opinion
The Jerusalem Post newspaper said that former officials of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, the military and the Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad) confirmed their support for the US return to the nuclear deal, in a letter they sent to Netanyahu yesterday.
The letter stated that the first goal should be to return Tehran to compliance with its obligations, and then work on a follow-up agreement that would fill the gaps in the agreement signed in 2015.
The newspaper pointed out that this is not the first time that this group of former officials opposes Netanyahu's efforts to stop the agreement.
But I opposed his position before that.
Last Friday, Israel objected to Washington's intention to return to the nuclear deal, after the administration of US President Joe Biden informed the UN Security Council on Thursday to cancel the sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump on Iran.