More Quotes
“There is Islamic terrorism throughout the Middle East. I would like to embrace the Egyptian people in the wake of this morning’s difficult event in Sinai, a very harsh attack with dozens of casualties, which underscores the fact that this terrorism is engulfing the Middle East. Behind this terrorism stands a country like Iran, and organizations like ISIS, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It is our responsibility, as a state, along with the other countries that are dealing with terrorism, to cooperate and not allow it to raise its head, and I believe that this is what will be done.” (Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon speaking alongside Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem, 01/07/2015)
“I will walk away from the negotiations if it is a bad deal … There has been a lot of talk on the other side from the Iranian negotiators about whether, in fact, they can abide by some of the terms that came up in Lausanne. If they cannot, that’s going to be a problem.” (US President Barack Obama speaking to reporters, 30/06/2015)
“It’s no secret that the villages on the Golan border are receiving our humanitarian aid … [we] placed two conditions on this aid – that terrorist groups not approach the fence, and that the Druze not be touched.” (Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon speaking to reporters, 29/06/2015)
“At a time when the entire world is shocked, and rightly so, by the simultaneous terrorist attacks perpetrated by extremist Islam over the weekend in three countries on three continents, it must be recalled that Iran is continuing to assist the Assad regime commit slaughters of a similar magnitude on a daily basis.
Two days before the final date set for the talks on achieving an agreement between the major powers and Iran, all of these things are being pushed aside. Everything is being ignored despite the publication of official reports. But practically, there is no demand that Iran change its behavior and its violations are being completely overlooked. Its extreme demands, as well as the concessions to Iran, are increasing. We see before our very eyes a pronounced retreat from the red lines which were recently declared – in public – by the major powers. There is no reason to hasten this bad agreement, which is becoming worse by the day. It is still not too late to go back and insist on demands that will genuinely deny Iran the ability to arm itself with nuclear weapons and prevent it from receiving vast sums to finance its aggression, its spreading out and the terrorist onslaught that it is pushing throughout the world.” (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking to the Cabinet, 28/06/2015)
“The foremost threat that endangers our security is Iran’s effort to arm itself with nuclear weapons. Concessions to Iran are increasing as we approach the date that has been determined between the major powers and Iran for achieving the goals. These concessions are whetting Iran’s appetite.
Every day it raises its demands in order to extort even more concessions.
Recently, Iranian ruler Khameini even ruled out the most basic conditions in the bad agreement being formulated in Lausanne – no to the restrictions that were planned for the nuclear program in the coming decade, no to conditioning the lifting of sanctions on Iran’s fulfilling the agreement, no to inspections of military sites. Even if, in the next few days, Iran would concede on some of these demands, the basic concession by the major powers would still be considerable and there will be a glaring withdrawal from the red lines that the major powers had previously declared in public.
This agreement is fundamentally flawed.
– It leaves Iran with a path to achieve an arsenal of nuclear bombs within a decade.
– It enables Iran to break out to nuclear weapons before then thanks to monitoring that is full of holes.
– It immediately gives Iran many billions with which it will increase its subversive activities, occupation and terrorism, against Israel, the entire Middle East and beyond.
It is still not too late to take stock. It is still not too late to insist on a good agreement. And it is certainly still not too late to not move forward on a bad agreement. It has always been said by various world leaders, by the leaders of the major powers, and I repeat it now – No agreement is better than a bad agreement.” (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the IAF Pilots Course Graduation Ceremony, 25/06/2015)
“The Iran nuclear deal is not done. Negotiations continue. The target deadline is June 30. We know much about the emerging agreement. Most of us would have preferred a stronger agreement.
The agreement will not prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapons capability. It will not require the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear enrichment infrastructure. It will however reduce that infrastructure for the next 10 to 15 years. And it will impose a transparency, inspection, and consequences regime with the goal of deterring and dissuading Iran from actually building a nuclear weapon.
The agreement does not purport to be a comprehensive strategy towards Iran. It does not address Iran’s support for terrorist organizations (like Hezbollah and Hamas), its interventions in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen (its “regional hegemony”), its ballistic missile arsenal, or its oppression of its own people. The U.S. administration has prioritized negotiations to deal with the nuclear threat, and hopes that an agreement will positively influence Iranian policy in these other areas.” (The statement can be read in full at the Washington Institute, it is endorsed by figures including: Olli Heinonen, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 2005-2010; Dennis Ross, special assistant to President Obama and National Security Council senior director for the central region, 2009-2011. Counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow, The Washington Institute and David Petraeus, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2011-2012, 24/06/2015)