In front of an F-35 fighter jet, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned Iran against continuing to “test” the Jewish state at a time when Tehran is negotiating with major countries to renew the nuclear deal.
Lapid made the announcement Tuesday during a visit to an air base in southern Israel, and his office released a video clip of him talking to an F-35 fighter jet behind him.
Israel is waging an intense diplomatic campaign to try to convince Westerners not to revive an agreement signed between them and the Islamic Republic in 2015 that has died since the United States unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018.
“It is too early to say whether we have really succeeded in stopping the nuclear agreement, but Israel is ready for any threat and any scenario,” Lapid said.
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— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) September 6, 2022
“If Iran continues to test us, it will discover Israel’s long arm and capabilities,” he added, promising “to continue to act on all fronts against terrorism and against those who seek to harm us.”
The Israeli prime minister confirmed that he had received a green light from US President Joe Biden for the Jewish state to do “whatever it sees fit” to prevent Iran from obtaining atomic weapons, a goal the Islamic Republic has always denied despite Western and Israeli accusations to the contrary.
“As we agreed with President Biden, Israel has complete freedom to do whatever it wants to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear threat,” Lapid said.
For its part, Lapid’s office said in a statement that Israel’s foreign intelligence chief (Mossad) David Barnea is currently visiting the United States as part of a “diplomatic campaign against Iran.”
Parnia is scheduled to meet during his visit with representatives of a number of American intelligence agencies.
Israel strongly opposes the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which eased sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for its commitment to rein in its nuclear program.
While Biden tries to revive the deal, Israel, the only nuclear power in the Middle East, has vowed to do everything in its power to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb.
Source: AP