Netanyahu: Iran deal will endanger Israel — big time

“A better deal is necessary. A better deal is possible. A better deal must and can be achieved. But if not, no deal is better than this bad deal,” PM Benjamin Netanyahu says • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accuses Iran deal critics of “hysteria.”

By Shlomo Cesana, Daniel Siryoti, Dan Lavie and Israel Hayom Staff

In a video message marking the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s 30th anniversary on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Preventing Iran from being able to build nuclear weapons is the foremost challenge of our generation. Unfortunately, the Lausanne framework fails to meet this challenge and if it will be realized, it will make the world a much more dangerous place.”

The prime minister went on to say, “But it’s not too late. Countries around the world must have the courage and the resolve to hold out for a better deal, one that will actually do the job of blocking Iran’s path to the bomb. Now, there are those who say that the Lausanne framework will make Israel safer. As the prime minister of Israel, I can tell you categorically: This deal will endanger Israel, big time.

“But it’s not just Israel that will be endangered. The Middle East and the entire world will be threatened.

“A better deal is necessary. A better deal is possible. A better deal must and can be achieved. But if not, no deal is better than this bad deal.”

Regarding the Iranian regime, Netanyahu said it “proudly proclaims its hatred for the United States and Israel. It repeatedly threatens to annihilate Israel. This month, Iran’s so-called moderate president presided over a military parade punctuated by cries of ‘Death to Israel,’ ‘Death to America.’ Iran is hosting yet another international competition of cartoons denying the Holocaust.

“Yet, Iran doesn’t just talk the talk, it walks the walk. It builds up terrorist bases along three of Israel’s borders: in Lebanon and Gaza and now on the Syrian Golan. It arms terrorists with thousands of rockets and missiles to be fired at our citizens.

“Israel simply cannot afford to let Iran obtain the capability to follow through on its genocidal designs. The international community cannot let Iran’s aggression in the region — in Lebanon, in Iraq, in Syria, in Yemen and elsewhere — continue under the protection of an Iranian nuclear umbrella. And the international community cannot afford to let the planet’s foremost sponsor of terrorism have nuclear capabilities with which to terrorize the entire world.”

In an interview with Channel 10 on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused critics of the framework nuclear deal reached last month between world powers and Iran of “hysteria.”

Defending the deal, Kerry said, “I believe that where we are heading will in fact protect Israel. President [Barack] Obama has absolutely pledged [Iran] will not get a nuclear weapon. … We will have inspectors in there every single day. That is not a 10-year deal. That’s forever.”

The secretary of state said critics of the framework deal “really need to look at the facts, and they need to look at the science of what is behind those facts.”

May 3, 2015 | 3 Comments »

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  1. http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/lt-gen-michael-flynn-on-the-situation-in-the-middle-east/?omhide=true&utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Gulf+States+Want+Advanced+U_S_+Weaponry+in+Exchange+for+Supporting+Iran+Nuclear+Deal&utm_campaign=20150503_m125612369_5%2F3+Breaking+Israel+Video%3A+Gulf+States+Want+Advanced+U_S_+Weaponry+in+Exchange+for+Supporting+Iran+Nuclear+Deal&utm_term=middle-east-analysis_png_3F1430657755

    Leading Persian Gulf states want major new weapons systems and security guarantees from the White House in exchange for backing a nuclear agreement with Iran, according to U.S. and Arab officials. The leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, plan to use a high-stakes meeting with President Barack Obama later this month to request additional fighter jets, missile batteries and surveillance equipment. They also intend to pressure Mr. Obama for new defense agreements between the U.S. and the Gulf nations that would outline terms and scenarios under which Washington would intervene if they are threatened by Iran, according to these officials. The demands underscore what complicated diplomatic terrain Mr. Obama is navigating as he drives toward one of his top foreign-policy goals, and they demonstrate how a nuclear deal with Iran aimed at stabilizing the Middle East risks further militarizing an already volatile region. Gulf leaders have long sought to bolster their military arsenals, but the requests pose problems for U.S. officials who want to demonstrate support for Arab allies, many of whom host American military bases, while also ensuring Israel maintains a military advantage in the region. Any moves by Mr. Obama to meet Arab leaders’ requests could face headwinds in Congress and new friction with Israel, given the continuing negotiations on an Iran nuclear deal.

    Watch Here

    “I’m very worried that President Obama will promise every military toy they’ve always wanted and a security agreement short of a treaty, with the understanding they have to be sympathetic to this deal,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.). “If I get a hint of that, a whiff of that, then I would do everything I could to block every bullet and every plane.” ep. Eliot Engel of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said White House officials have indicated Mr. Obama is seriously considering Arab leaders’ requests and he’d be shocked if some of them weren’t granted. “These countries are in the most vulnerable geographical areas, and I think they have a legitimate concern about Iran,” said Mr. Engel, who has discussed the requests with Arab officials in recent weeks. But, he said, “We have to make sure that Israel’s qualitative military edge is kept.” Mr. Obama is scheduled to host the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. at the White House on May 13 and the following day at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. The Persian Gulf countries say they need more drones, surveillance equipment and missile-defense systems to combat an Iranian regime they see as committed to becoming the region’s dominant power. The Gulf states also want upgraded fighter jets to contain the Iranian challenge, particularly the advanced F-35, known as the Joint Strike Fighter. A senior U.S. official played down chances the administration would agree to sell advanced systems such as the F-35 fighter to those nations—though the planes will be sold to Israel and Turkey—because of concerns within the administration about altering the military balance in the Middle East. Sales of such advanced equipment would also likely run into opposition from pro-Israel lawmakers who have the power to block transfers, the official said. The challenge Mr. Obama faces at Camp David is to assuage growing fears among those Sunni countries that want military superiority over Shiite-dominated Iran, while not undermining longtime U.S. security guarantees to Israel. Current law mandates that the U.S. uphold Israel’s qualitative military edge over its neighbors.

    Read more: Wall Street Journal
    http://www.wsj.com/articles/gulf-states-want-u-s-assurances-and-weapons-in-exchange-for-supporting-iran-pact-1430585002

  3. Secretary Kerry is flat-out lying.

    His country wouldn’t even condemn the Iranian piratical seizure of a US-flagged merchant marine vessel on the high seas and determined its treaty commitment to the Marshall Islands “isn’t binding” – excusing it from defending them.

    And when Kerry says the US has a forever deal – nothing is forever in politics. In less than 20 months he and his President will be out of office and what happens with an Iran deal will no longer be their concern.

    Israel will keep on fighting it.