Following the Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation (Iran), Israel`s ambassador to the UN, Prosor held a press briefing:
Ladies
and Gentleman,
Today,
you have awarded a great prize to the most dangerous country in the world.
I
hate to be the one who spoils the party, but someone has to say that the
emperor has no clothes. Today is a very sad day. Not only for the state of
Israel, but for the entire world, even if at this moment, the international
community refuses to see the tragedy.
It
is a sad day because the international community is taking steps to lift the
sanctions on Iran without first waiting to see if Iran complies with even a
single obligation in the agreement.
It
is a sad day because this agreement gives Iran a seat on the commission which
will decide whether or not it has violated the agreement. This is like allowing
a criminal to sit on the jury which will decide his own fate.
You
haven’t changed Iran’s destructive ideology, which goes beyond proliferating
deadly weapons and funding terror.
It
is not only that you have not cured the symptoms, you have strengthened the
source of the problem. You have given the source of the problem- Iran- money,
stability at home, and time to carry out its destructive ideology.
For
the first time anyone can remember, Israel and the Arab world see eye to eye-
this deal is dangerous for the region, for the people of the region-
Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike, and for the entire world.
You,
in the international community, have a bad track record when it comes to seeing
impending disasters, even when it is right in front of your eyes.
Good
intentions too often leads to wishful thinking. Look at what happened with the
Arab Spring, how so many people were absolutely convinced that we were at the
dawn of a new Middle East. Think back, how many people praised Assad, who
studied ophthalmology in London, as a reformer, who would change the economy of
Syria- and quite a change it has been.
And
all those who at that time dared to say they see things a bit differently were
branded as without imagination, without creativity, and unable to escape old
paradigms.
When
the nuclear deal was made with North Korea, I remember good and
well-intentioned people who wanted to believe they signed a deal which would
prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons- and we all know what has
happened since then.
They
told us, we would live in a more secure world.
I’m
sure that many of you, many around here, do not feel more secure in the world
today.
Ladies and Gentleman,
I present to you this map- which
is Iran’s Empire of Terror.
Now, take a close look at
this map. This is what the world looked like this morning, before you voted on the
process of removing sanctions from Iran. You can see the impact of Iran’s
terror apparatus with your own eyes here.
Countries like Thailand,
Azerbaijan, and the Capital of the United States, managed to prevent, at the
last minute, Iranian terror plots before they could be carried out.
Other countries were not so
fortunate. Countries from Bulgaria to Argentina have experienced the horror of
Iranian terror first-hand.
In Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq,
and countries across the world, Iran has spread its tentacles in order to
expand its empire.
This weekend, 21 years ago, Iran and Hezbollah sent a suicide
bomber driving a van loaded with explosives, into the Jewish Community
Center in Buenos Aires. 85 innocent people were killed and many
others were injured.
Since then, you can find Iran’s fingerprints in every
corner of the globe, targeting innocent civilians, smuggling arms, financing
terrorist groups, and engaging in illegal proliferation activity.
Now, what did the world do
to respond to Iran’s growing empire of terror?
Well, just a few minutes
ago, here:
It voted to empower it.
It voted to strengthen it.
It voted to fund their
expansion.
Iran will now have 150
billion dollars to fund terror groups.
So, the 150 billion dollar
question is-- what will this map look like tomorrow?
How will the new Iranian
pie be distributed?
How much money will go to
Hezbollah and Hamas?
How much money will go to
Assad?
How much money will go to
fund worldwide terror activities?
and, how long will it take
before this map is entirely red?
If
the international community refuses to see this as a tragedy, that is a
grave strategic error. But if it is aware of the tragedy,
and it still chooses to purse this dangerous path, that is a
catastrophe.
I
would like to say that the Iranians are metaphorically laughing in everyone’s
face, but the sad part is that this time it is not a metaphor.
When
the villain is laughing, you know something is wrong.
Friends,
the villain is laughing, and his laughter echoes throughout the world. Loudly
and clearly.
When
we hear laughter from a country whose Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, says
that even after the agreement is signed, Iran will continue the battle against
the United States, Iran will continue supporting terrorists in the Middle East
and around the world - something is wrong.
When
we hear laughter from a country whose president, just days before the agreement
was signed, marches at the head of a parade in Tehran in which American
and Israeli flags are burned- something is wrong.
When
we hear laughter from a country which does not even attempt to mask its hatred,
something is wrong.
Friends,
something is very, very wrong.
Israel, but not only Israel, is on
the front lines. We will all pay the
price- and not just in the Middle East.
It
might sound surprising to some of you, but we in Israel tend to take it seriously when
someone threatens to destroy us.
Ladies
and Gentleman,
In
future years, the consequences of this mistake will become clear to all, but
for Israel, tomorrow is already too late.