PM Netanyahu's statement on US decision to trigger snapback sanctions

PM Netanyahu's statement on US decision

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     Copyright: GPO/Amos Ben Gershom
     
     

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Thursday, 20 August 2020):
     
    "I commend the United States for its decision to trigger snapback sanctions against Iran. This is the right decision. Just as in 2018, the United States made the right decision when it withdrew from the dangerous nuclear deal with Iran. That deal should never have been made. It didn't block Iran's path to the bomb, it paved its path to the bomb.
     
    “Alone among world leaders, I publicly spoke out against that deal. But across the Middle East, many, many leaders agreed with me. I opposed the deal because it was based on a fundamental lie: that somehow Iran had given up on its quest for nuclear weapons. It wasn't true then, and it's not true now.
     
    “Two years ago, the agents of Israel obtained the secret Iranian nuclear archive, and we found there indisputable proof that the Iranian nuclear program always was, and still remains, a military nuclear program.
     
    “And just as I warned the deal would only make Iran richer and more aggressive, it fueled its war machine in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza and beyond, and enabled Iran to further develop its international terror network.
    “The fatal flaw in the JCPOA are the so-called sunset clauses. I urged the P5+1 not to agree to a framework which automatically lifts the restrictions on Iran and the sanctions on the regime’s import and export of armaments, its missile program and its nuclear activities.
     
    “The Security Council’s failure to act was a dereliction of its duty to protect international peace and security. Unchallenged, this failure effectively makes the Security Council complicit in arming Iran’s murderous regime.

    “Fortunately, President Trump and Secretary Pompeo have refused to accept this. Responsible countries should support the United States in seeking a real solution, one that will prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons.
     
    “Israel stands proudly and firmly with the United States, as do governments across the Middle East who opposed the JCPOA quietly and now support the restoration of sanctions publicly. Ultimately, the tyrants of Tehran must understand this: If Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, it must start acting like a normal country. That has not yet happened."