BOB SCHIEFFER: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now joins us from Jerusalem. Prime Minister, thank you for coming. Another of these hideous videos, another execution. Are we losing this war with ISIS?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: No, I think you are fully engaged in it. First let me say that we see these horrors, this additional atrocity, and the people of Israel are with you, we’re with the family, we're with all the American people who understand the savagery that we’re all up against. We support you in this battle. We support President Obama in leading this coalition. It has to be fought, ISIS, it has to be defeated and it can be defeated.
BOB SCHIEFFER: The last time we talked, you said that Israel was ready to help in any possible. You did not go beyond that. Are you going to take -- is Israel going to take a more active role in this fight against ISIS?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: We’re fully coordinated with the United States, we exchange all information that needs to be exchanged and I really don’t want to go beyond that. But I will say that I think we have a global conflict here. I mean, basically the Middle East is awash with militant Islamists, the militant Islamists led by Al-Qaeda and ISIS on the Sunni side. The militant Islamists led by Iran and Hezbollah on the Shiite side. We want both of them to lose. The last thing we want is to have any one of them get weapons of mass destruction. Look at what ISIS is doing now with assault rifles and pickup trucks. Just imagine what Iran would do if it had nuclear weapons. So both our enemies are fighting one another, and when they are, we can both, don't strengthen either one.
BOB SCHIEFFER: President Obama says his reaching out to Iran to help out in the fight against ISIS has nothing to do with Iran's nuclear program. Should the United States try to work with Iran to fight ISIS?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Iran is not your ally. Iran is not your friend. Iran is your enemy. It’s not your partner. Iran is committed to the destruction of Israel. Just as the P5+1, the United States and the world powers, is negotiating with Iran a nuclear agreement, the Ayatollah Khamenei, the ruler of Iran, calls for the annihilation of Israel. He just did that four days ago. He specified nine ways and reasons by which Israel should be destroyed. He’s participated in rallies and chants of "death to America" and "death to Israel." This is not a friend. Neither in the battle against ISIS nor in the great effort that should be made to deprive him of the capacity to make nuclear weapons. Don’t fall for Iran’s ruse, they are not your friend.
BOB SCHIEFFER: There's about a week left to the deadline for the US-Iran nuclear talks. Do you think the United States should agree to any concessions in order to make a deal with Iran on their nuclear limits, on their nuclear power?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: No, I think you should, I want to be clear what has to be achieved. it’s not merely preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons today, it’s to prevent them, Bob, from having nuclear weapons tomorrow. That means that Iran should not be left with the residual capacity to enrich uranium that you need to have an atomic bomb, nor to have the long-range ballistic missiles -- the ICBMs, intercontinental ballistic missile -- to launch them. Why has Khamenei developed, why have they developed ballistic missiles? They don't need them to reach israel. They need them to reach the United States. Now they’re asking for the capacity to make, in very short order, the nuclear bombs to put on those missiles that can reach the United States. They should be deprived from having that capacity to make those weapons. And I think it’s that's what's on the table. I think it's important to continue the sanctions. The alternative to a bad deal is not war. The alternative to a bad deal are more sanctions, tougher sanctions, that will make Iran dismantle its capacity to make nuclear bombs.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Prime Minister, I would like to hear your characterization of how you think relations are now between the United States and Israel. As you well know, an administration official told The Atlantic that you were a "chicken expletive." Have those comments affected your relationship with President Obama?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Look, I’m not going to deal with anonymous sources that issue all sorts of critical statements. I think that's not appropriate. I will say this: I think the relationship between Israel and the United States is very, very strong. I mean, there is bipartisan support for Israel, which we appreciate. And not only that, I think support for Israel among the American people is at an all time high. Because when Americans, when they look around the Middle East and they see ISIS beheading Americans, they see the chants "death to American" in Tehran, they see the fluidity – that’s an understatement – the fact that one state after another is collapsing. And they see this democratic state of Israel, admittedly a beleaguered democracy, but one that stands for American values of democracy and personal liberty and free speech and an organized society, a high-tech society. People instinctively understand that Israel is America’s best ally in the Middle East. The best ally of the United States. And you know, in Israel we think America is our best ally too. There’s a very, very strong bond there. And yes, we can have disagreements between governments. That happens in the best of families, but we are one family.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Prime minister, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Thank you Bob.