On 23 January the EU decided to impose sanctions on the export of petroleum from Iran. This a step in the right direction. Sanctions will have to be evaluated on the basis of results.

“In recent months we have witnessed several attempts to attack Israeli citizens and Jews in several countries, including Azerbaijan, Thailand and others. In each instance we succeeded in foiling the attacks in cooperation with local authorities. Iran and its proxy Hizbullah were behind all of these attempted attacks.

Today we have witnessed two additional attempted terrorist attacks on innocent civilians, the first against an Israeli woman who was wounded in New Delhi and the second against a local employee of the Israeli Embassy in Georgia. Iran is behind these attacks; it is the largest exporter of terrorism in the world. The Government of Israel and the security services will continue to act together with local security forces against such acts of terrorism. We will continue to take strong and systematic, yet patient, action against the international terrorism that originates in Iran.”

“Iran is not only building a bomb and threatening to destroy our people, the government of Iran today is the headquarters of terrorism, of hatred and of war, and will not spare any effort to attempt to kill and to destroy. The Iranian government does not have a future because it does not promise a future. We shall meet the Iranian dangers as it should be done – with the maximum effort to make the region secure and peaceful.”

“Iran is not only a threat to Israel. It constitutes a real danger to humanity as a whole. The present Iranian regime is imperialistic and aspires to be the region’ supreme ruler. The world should learn the lesson drawn from the Nazi atrocities. Luckily, today there is a serious and strong Jewish state. It will not forget past crimes in order to ensure that they do not repeat themselves. I endorse the American position and the European position. And I believe they have still not had the last word.”

President Peres addressed the Iranian people directly and said: “We were not born enemies and there is no need for us to live as enemies. Do not allow the flags of hostility to cast a dark shadow on your heritage. You are a sensitive people that aspire to friendship and peace, not conflict and wars.”

DM Barak at meeting with German FM Westerwelle (2 Feb 2012):

“Military plans in general are not a matter for public discourse. Today we are still in a period of diplomacy and sanctions. It is obvious to everyone that no option should be removed from the table, and that diplomacy must be conducted intensively and urgently. The sanctions on Iran must include – not only the oil sector – but also the financial system, and the central bank. I am confident that leaders in the international community, which of course includes Germany, will keep discussing these issues.”

“At this time, the UN has a decisive role to play in the war against global terrorism, at the head of which stands Iran. No country is immune from terrorism – not the US, not the European states and not the countries of the Middle East. While Israel welcomes the sanctions, in and of themselves they are not enough. I expect the international community not to take any option off the table, and to take determined action to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb! Iran finances and uses terrorism. We have witnessed the shipments of weapons and missiles that reach Gaza directly from Tehran and are received by Hamas, and the weapons convoys that go directly to Hizbullah in Lebanon and to Syria as well.”

Iran is developing nuclear weapons in order to control the entire Middle East and beyond. This is a direct threat to peace.

The determination of world leaders is critical in order to prevent the Iranians from advancing their military-nuclear program. We must not waste time on this matter; the Iranians continue to advance [towards nuclear weapons], identifying every crack and squeezing through. Time is urgently running out.

Last week, I spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. I commended them on the steps that Europe has taken against Iran, against both its petroleum exports and its central bank. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will arrive here in the coming days. I will sit with him and discuss the strengthening and intensifying of these sanctions.

This week, something very significant happened with regard to the Iranian issue because the European Union imposed harsh sanctions on Iran, first on Iran’s oil exportation, but also on its central bank. I think that, although Iran has yet to stop is nuclear program and we do not know if it has already had an influence, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Yesterday I called the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and I congratulated him on his leadership in passing this decision – one that is not simple for Europe – and he played an important role in it. Several hours earlier, I spoke with David Cameron, the Prime Minister of Britain, and I congratulated him as well for his important role in passing this decision. I have spoken and will speak with other leaders, and I thank them for mobilizing to this global effort.

Last night I was at an event at the Chinese Embassy in Israel marking the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel and China. I congratulated China for also reducing its importation of oil from Iran, but I called on them to continue this policy until they reach a situation of independence from their reliance on Iranian oil. This reality is possible today in cooperation with other parties. Ten days ago, I spoke with the Foreign Minister of India about this topic as well. We hope that other countries, such as South Korea and Japan, will act in a similar fashion. Such a thing could surely be influential. I do not know if it will be decisive, but it can influence.

Seventy years after the Holocaust, many people in the world keep silent despite the statements made in Iran to erase Israel from the face of the Earth…

This is a day during which the world should unite around the idea that weapons of mass destruction must not fall into the hands of dark regimes, first and foremost the Ayatollah regime in Iran.

I sent my congratulations to the European leaders for taking the important step of imposing sanctions on Iran, and it is important that other countries in the world join this action – including China, Japan, India and South Korea. As I said many times in the past, it is only the combination of paralyzing sanctions and a credible threat to Iran that all the options are really on the table that will lead Iran to reconsider its nuclear program, which it has yet to do.

We cannot bury our heads in the sand. The Iranian regime openly calls for the destruction of the State of Israel; it is planning the destruction of Israel; and it is working to destroy Israel. Its proxies, Hizbullah and Hamas, have already fired over 12,000 missiles at Israeli cities. They do not hide their intention to kill as many of our people as possible. However, when some people try to play down the Iranian threat or make fools out of or dismiss those who warn against the danger – then maybe it is true that there are those among us how did not fully learn the lesson.

On this day, when the nations of the world remember the Holocaust, when the countries of Europe have imposed an embargo on Iranian oil, we not only congratulate them on that, we are working on many levels in order to deepen and broaden as much as possible the international front against Iran.

“I want to express our appreciation for the last resolutions taken by the EU. I understand you led this process and I hope it will really bear fruits. Everything that can be done early and peacefully is better than later and dangerously… We are very much encouraged by this move and I have a very high regard for this achievement but it does not solve the problem.

Naturally, because we talk so much about the nuclear side of this issue, we forget that Iran is the most illegitimate center of terror in the world. We (Israel) feel it with Hamas; Iran smuggles and sends them arms and weapons that can endanger Israel. Iran finances Hamas and splits the Palestinian people. The same goes for Hizbullah in Lebanon. Iran’s government is the most corrupt government politically and morally that I can think of. I don’t know if they will submit to the call of Europe and the call of the United States and if they do, will they then do as they say, but it was a courageous move and the right one to take. So while not forgetting the other side, we have to appreciate the step that you took under these very complicated circumstances.”

As we gather in this chamber, an alarm bell is ringing. Never has it been so clear that Iran is seeking to build a nuclear weapon. This is the single greatest threat to the security of the entire world. Now is the time to act. Tomorrow is too late. The stakes are too high. The price of inaction is too great.

The latest IAEA reports prove beyond any doubt that Iran has a nuclear weapons program, which is advancing rapidly.

Iran recently announced that it will enrich uranium to a 20 percent-level at its nuclear facility in Qom. There is no plausible civilian justification for this action. It blatantly violates numerous resolutions of this Council – and will bring Iran significantly closer to producing weapons-grade, highly enriched uranium.

Each and every member of the United Nations – and particularly this Council – should lie awake at night thinking about what would happen if the regime in Tehran gets ahold of the most dangerous weapon on earth.

Only the pressure of a united international community can stop Iran from continuing its march toward nuclear weapons. The political and economic price that Iran will pay must be clear. Israel commends the recent steps taken by the U.S, the EU, and others in this regard. Although these are important steps, we all must judge them based on their results. It is time for the rest of the international community – and this Council – to join these efforts.

“Today the EU has decided to impose sanctions on the export of petroleum from Iran. I think that this is a step in the right direction. True, it is still impossible to know what the result of these sanctions will be. Very strong and quick pressure on Iran is necessary. Sanctions will have to be evaluated on the basis of results. As of today, Iran is continuing to produce nuclear weapons without hindrance.”

“The EU’s decision to impose sanctions on Iranian oil exports is extremely important. It sets a new standard for sanctions, and I hope that they will be effective. Obviously, we believe that these sanctions – as well as those sanctions from the U.S. – should also be applied to the Central Bank of Iran. We hope that those sanctions will be imposed quickly and implemented rigidly, in order to really test the Iranian leadership. [These sanctions] must force [the Iranian leadership] to internalize the fact that the whole world is opposing its ongoing attempts to go nuclear.”

“Iran is a center of global terrorism. It finances the most dangerous terrorists in the world and oversees acts of terrorism that claim innocent lives. Iran aspires to establish its hegemony not only the Middle East but other parts of the world as well, and is continuing in its attempts to penetrate South America.”

“A nuclear Iran is a danger to Israel, the region and the world. Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Sharp sanctions must now be enacted against the Iranian central bank and against oil exports.”

“Iran is an existential threat, not only to Israel. We see the Gulf states, for whom this is the number one problem, we see what is in effect an Iranian takeover of Iraq, and we know without a doubt that Iran also wants de facto to take over or exert influence on Saudi Arabia. Thus, Iran will be the force that dictates energy policy for the entire world. Its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz is a threat directed not against Israel but the entire international community.”

“Tehran is wobbling under the sanctions that have been adopted and especially under the threat of strong sanctions on their central bank. If these sanctions are coupled with a clear statement from the international community led by the US to act militarily to stop Iran if the sanctions fail, Iran may consider not going through the pain. There’s no point in gritting your teeth if you’re going to be stopped anyway. In any case, the Iranian economy is showing signs of strain.”

“Iran is brazenly violating international law and its own commitments. It’s trying to sneak underground its nuclear weapons program. It’s enriching uranium now in two facilities. I believe this is a great danger to the peace of the Middle East and the world as a whole.”

“The greatest threat facing humanity is that nuclear weapons will meet up with a radical Islamic regime, or that a radical Islamic regime may meet up with nuclear weapons. The first will happen if the Taliban takes over Pakistan. The second will happen if the ayatollah regime were to acquire nuclear weapons. Either one would be a catastrophic development for peace, for the supply of oil to the world, for the peace and safety of many countries, first of all my own, but also many others.”

“Much has changed in the last year with the convulsions that have rocked the Arab world. This increases our concerns for our security because we are concerned that any territory we vacate will be taken over by radical Islamic forces. That has happened already twice – Lebanon taken over by Iran’s proxy, Hizbullah. And when we left Gaza and it was taken over by Iran’s proxy, Hamas. We cannot let this happen a third time, to have the Judean and Samarian (West Bank) mountains taken over by Iran.”