Transcription
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Speech at
the United Nations General Assembly
September 30, 2013
I feel
deeply honored and privileged to stand here before you today representing the
citizens of the State of Israel.
We are
an ancient people. We date back nearly
4,000 years to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
We have journeyed through time, we've overcome the greatest of
adversities, And we reestablished our sovereign state in our ancestral
homeland, the Land of Israel.
The
Jewish people's odyssey through time has taught us two things: Never give up
hope. Always remain vigilant.
Hope
charts the future. Vigilance protects
it.
Today,
our hope for the future is challenged by a nuclear-armed Iran that seeks our
destruction. But I want you to know:
that wasn't always the case. Some 2500
years ago, the great Persian King Cyrus ended the Babylonian exile of the
Jewish people. He issued a famous edict
in which he proclaimed the right of the Jews to return to the Land of Israel and
rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
That's a Persian decree, and thus began an historic friendship between
the Jews and the Persians that lasted until modern times.
But in 1979,
a radical regime in Tehran tried to stamp out that friendship. As it was busy crushing the Iranian people's
hopes for democracy, it also led wild chants of "Death to the Jews!" Now,
since that time, Presidents of Iran have come and gone. Some presidents were considered moderates,
others hardliners. But they've all served
that same unforgiving creed, that same unforgetting regime – that creed that is
espoused and enforced by the real power in Iran, the dictator known in Iran as
the Supreme Leader, first Ayatollah Khomeini
and now Ayatollah Khamenei. President
Rouhani, like the presidents who came before him is a loyal servant of the regime. He was one of only six candidates the regime
permitted to run for office. Nearly 700 other
candidateswere rejected.
So what
made him acceptable? Well, Rouhani headed
Iran's Supreme National Security Council from 1989 through 2003. During that time, Iran's henchmen gunned down
opposition leaders in a Berlin restaurant.
They murdered 85 people at the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. They killed 19 American soldiers by blowing
up the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia.
Are we
to believe that Rouhani, the National Security Advisor of Iran at the time,
knew nothing about these attacks?
Of
course he did.
Just as 30
years ago, Iran's security chiefs knew about the bombings in Beirut that killed
241 American Marines and 58 French Paratroopers.
Ro
u
hani was also Iran's chief nuclear
negotiator between 2003 and 2005. He
masterminded the strategy which enabled Iran to advance its nuclear weapons
program behind a smokescreen of diplomatic engagement and very soothing
rhetoric. Now I know Rouhani does not
sound like Ahmadinejad. But when it
comes to Iran's nuclear weapons program, the only difference between them is
this: Ahmadinejad was a wolf in wolf's clothing and Rouhani is a wolf in
sheep's clothing – a wolf who thinks he can pull the wool over the eyes of the
international community.
Like
everyone else, I wish we could believe Rouhani's words. But we must focus on Iran's actions.
And it’s
the brazen contrast, this extraordinary contradiction between Rouhani's words
and Iran's actions that is so startling.
Rouhani stood at this very podium last week and praised Iranian
democracy. Iranian democracy, he said.
But the
regime that he represents executes political dissidents by the hundreds and
jails them by the thousands. Rouhani spoke
of "the human tragedy in Syria." Yet Iran directly participates in Assad’s
murder and massacre of tens of thousands of innocent men, women, and children
in Syria, and that regime is propping up a Syrian regime that just used
chemical weapons against its own people.
Rou
hani condemned
the "violent scourge of terrorism."
Yet in the last three years alone Iran has ordered, planned or perpetrated
terrorist attacks in 25 cities on five continents.
Rou
hani denounces
"attempts to change the regional balance through proxies." Yet Iran is actively destabilizing Lebanon,
Yemen, Bahrain, and many other Middle Eastern countries.
Rou
hani promises
"constructive engagement with other countries." Yet two years ago, Iranian agents tried to
assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador in Washington, DC.
And just
three weeks ago, an Iranian agent was arrested trying to collect information
for possible attacks against the American Embassy in Tel Aviv. Some constructive engagement!
I wish I
could be moved by Rouhani's invitation to join his "WAVE" –a world
against violence and extremism. Yet the
only waves Iran has generated in the last 30 years are waves of violence and terrorism
that it has unleashed on the region and across the world.
Ladies
and Gentlemen, I wish I could believe Rouhani, but
I don't
because facts are stubborn things. And
the facts are that Iran's savage record flatly contradicts Rouhani's soothing
rhetoric.
Last
Friday, Rouhani assured us that in pursuit of its nuclear program, Iran has "never
chosen deceit… and secrecy." Never chosen deceit and secrecy?!
Well, in2002,
Iran was caught red-handed secretly building an underground centrifuge facility
at Natanz. Then in 2009, Iran was again
caught red-handed secretly building a huge underground nuclear facility for uranium
enrichment in a mountain near Qom. Rouhani
tells us not to worry; he assures us that all this is not intended for nuclear
weapons. Do any of you believe that? If you believe that, here's a few questions
that you might want to ask:
Why
would a country that claims to only want peaceful nuclear energy, why would
such a country build hidden underground enrichment facilities?
Why
would a country with vast natural energy reserves invest billions in developing
nuclear energy?
Why
would a country intent on merely civilian nuclear programs continue to defy
multiple Security Council resolutions and incur the costs of crippling
sanctions on its economy?
And why
would a country with a peaceful nuclear program develop intercontinental
ballistic missiles whose sole purpose is to deliver nuclear warheads? You don't build ICBM's to carry TNT thousands
of miles away. You build them for one
purpose – to carry nuclear warheads. And
Iran is now building ICBM's that the United States says can reach this city in
three or four years.
Why
would they do all this? The answer is
simple. Iran is not building a peaceful
nuclear program. Iran is developing
nuclear weapons.
Last
year alone, Iran enriched three tons of uranium to 3.5%, doubled its stockpile
of 20% enriched uranium, and added thousands of new centrifuges, including
advanced centrifuges. It also continued
work on the heavy water reactor in Arak.
That's in order to have another route to the bomb – a plutonium path
.
s
ince
Rouhani's election – and I stress this – this vast and feverish effort has continued
unabated. Ladies and gentlemen,
Underground
nuclear facilities?
Heavy
water reactors?
Advanced
centrifuges?
ICBM's?
It's not
that it's hard to find evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapons program.
It's hard to find evidence that Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapons
program.
Last
year when I spoke here at the UN, I drew a red line. Iran has been very careful not to cross that line.
But Iran is positioning itself to race across that line in the future at a time
of its choosing. Iran wants to be in a
position to rush forward to build nuclear bombs before the international
community can detect it, much less prevent it.
Yet Iran
faces one big problem, and that problem is summed up in one word: Sanctions.
I have
argued for many years, including on this podium, that the only way to peacefully
prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is to combine tough sanctions with
a credible military threat. And that
policy is today bearing fruit. Thanks to
the effort of many countries, many represented here, and under the leadership
of the United States, tough sanctions have taken a big bite out of Iran's
economy. Oil revenues have fallen. The currency has plummeted. Banks are hard pressed to transfer money.
So as a
result, the regime is under intense pressure from the Iranian people to get the
sanctions removed. That's why Rouhani
got elected in the first place. That's
why he launched his charm offensive.
He
definitely wants to get the sanctions lifted, I guarantee you that, but he
doesn't want togive up Iran's nuclear weapons program in return.
Now,
here's the strategy to achieve this:
First,
smile a lot. Smiling never hurts. Second,
pay lip service to peace, democracy and tolerance. Third, offer meaningless concessions in
exchange for lifting sanctions. And fourth,
and the most important, ensure that Iran retains sufficient nuclear material
and sufficient nuclear infrastructure to race to the bomb at a time that it
chooses to do so. You know why Rouhani thinks
he can get away with this? I mean, this
is a ruse; it's a ploy. Why does Rouhani
think he can get away with it? Because
he's gotten away with it before. Because
his strategy of talking a lot and doing little has worked for him in the past. He even bragged about it. Here's what he said in his 2011 book about
his time as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator: "While we were talking to
the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing equipment in Isfahan…"
For
those who you who don't know, the Isfahan facility is an indispensable part of
Iran's nuclear weapons program. That's where
uranium ore called yellowcake is converted into an enrichable form. Rouhani boasted, and I quote: "By
creating a calm environment, we were able to complete the work in Isfahan."
He
fooled the world once. Now he thinks he
can fool it again. You see, Rouhani
thinks he can have his yellowcake and eat it too.
And he has
another reason to believe that he can get away with this, and that reason is
called North Korea.
Like
Iran, North Korea also said its nuclear program was for peaceful
purposes. Like Iran, North Korea also
offered meaningless concessions and empty promises in return for sanctions
relief. In 2005, North Korea agreed to a
deal that was celebrated the world over by many well-meaning people. Here is what the New York Times editorial had
to say about it: "For years now, foreign policy insiders have pointed
to North Korea as the ultimate nightmare... a closed, hostile and paranoid
dictatorship with an aggressive nuclear weapons program.
Very few
could envision a successful outcome.
And yet
North Korea agreed in principle this week to dismantle its nuclear weapons
program, return to the NPT, abide by the treaty's safeguards and admit
international inspectors….
Diplomacy,
it seems, does work after all."
End
quote.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
A year
later, North Korea exploded its first nuclear weapons device.
Yet as
dangerous as a nuclear-armed North Korea is, it pales in comparison to the
danger of a nuclear-armed Iran. A nuclear-armed Iran would have a chokehold on
the world's main energy supplies. It would
trigger nuclear proliferation throughout the Middle East, turning the most
unstable part of the planet into a nuclear tinderbox. And for the first time in history, it would
make the specter of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger.
A
nuclear-armed Iran in the Middle East wouldn't be another North Korea. It would be another 50 North Koreas!
I know
that some in the international community think I'm exaggerating this threat. Sure, they know that Iran's regime leads
these chants, "Death to America!", "Death to Israel!", then
it pledges to wipe Israel off the map. But
they think this wild rhetoric is just bluster for domestic consumption. Have these people learned nothing from
history?
The last
century has taught us that when a radical regime with global ambitions gets
awesome power, sooner or later, its appetite for aggression knows no bounds. That's the central lesson of the 20th
century. Now, we cannot forget it.
The
world may have forgotten this lesson. The
Jewish people have not.
Iran's
fanaticism is not bluster. It's real. This fanatic regime must never be allowed to
arm itself with nuclear weapons.
I know
that the world is weary of war. We in
Israel, we know all too well the cost of war.
But history has taught us that to prevent war tomorrow, we must be firm
today.
This
raises the question: Can diplomacy stop
this threat?
Well,
the only diplomatic solution that would work is one that fully dismantles
Iran's nuclear weapons program and prevents it from having one in the future. President Obama rightly said that Iran's
conciliatory words must be matched by transparent, verifiable and meaningful
action, and to be meaningful, a diplomatic solution would require Iran to do
four things. First, cease all uranium
enrichment. This is called for by
several Security Council resolutions. Second,
remove from its territory the stockpiles of enriched uranium. Third, dismantle the infrastructure for a
nuclear breakout capability, including the underground facility near Qom and the
advanced centrifuges in Natanz. And
four, stop all work at the heavy water reactor in Arak aimed at the production
of plutonium.
These
steps would put an end to Iran's nuclear weapons program and eliminate its
breakout capability. There are those who
would readily agree to leave Iran with a residual capability to enrich uranium.
I advise them to pay close attention to
what Rouhani said in a speech to Iran's Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council. This was published in 2005: "A
country that can enrich uranium to about 3.5% will also have the capability to
enrich it to about 90%. Having fuel
cycle capability virtually means that a country that possesses this capability
is able to produce nuclear weapons.
Precisely. This is precisely why Iran's nuclear weapons
program must be fully and verifiably dismantled. And this is why the pressure on Iran must continue.
So
here's what the international community must do. First, keep up the sanctions. If Iran advances its nuclear weapons program
during negotiations, strengthen the sanctions.
Second,
don't agree to a partial deal. A partial
deal would lift international sanctions that have taken years to put in place
in exchange for cosmetic concessions that will take only weeks for Iran to
reverse. Third, lift the sanctions only
when Iran fully dismantles its nuclear weapons program.
My
friends,
The
international community has Iran on the ropes. If you want to knockout Iran's nuclear weapons
program peacefully, don't let up the pressure.
Keep it up.
We all
want to give diplomacy with Iran a chance to succeed. But when it comes to Iran, the greater the
pressure, the greater the chance.
Three
decades ago, President Ronald Reagan famously advised: Trust but verify. When it comes to Iran's nuclear weapons
program, here's my advice: Distrust, Dismantle, and Verify.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
Israel
will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that
repeatedly promises to wipe us off the map.
Against such a threat, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself. I want there to be no confusion on this
point: Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will
stand alone. Yet in standing alone, Israel
will know that we will be defending many, many others. The dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran and the
emergence of other threats in our region have led many of our Arab neighbors to
finally recognize that Israel is not their enemy. This affords us the opportunity to overcome
historic animosities and build new relationships, new friendships, new hopes. Israel welcomes engagement with the wider
Arab world. We hope that our common
interests and common challenges will help us forge a more peaceful future.
And Israel
continues to seek an historic peace with our Palestinian neighbors, one that ends our conflict once and for all. We want a peace based on security and mutual
recognition in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish
state of Israel. I remain committed to
achieving an historic conciliation and building a better future for Israelis
and Palestinians alike.
Now, I
have no illusions about how difficult this will be to achieve. Twenty years ago, the peace process between
Israel and the Palestinians began. Six Israeli
Prime Ministers, myself included, have not succeeded in achieving peace with
the Palestinians. My predecessors were
prepared to make painful concessions. So
am I.
But so
far, Palestinian leaders haven't been prepared to offer the painful concessions
they must make to end the conflict. For peace to be achieved, the Palestinians
must finally recognize the Jewish state and Israel's security needs must be met.
I am prepared to make an historic
compromise for a genuine and enduring peace.
But I will never compromise on the security of my people and of
my country of the one and only Jewish state.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
One cold
day in the late 19th century, my grandfather Nathan and his younger
brother Judah were standing in a railway station in the heart of Europe. They
were seen by a group of anti-Semitic hoodlums who ran towards them waving
clubs, screaming, "Death to the Jews!"
My
grandfather shouted to his younger brother to flee and save himself. And he then stood alone against the raging mob
to slow it down. They beat him senseless. They left him for dead. Before he passed out, covered in his own
blood, he said to himself: "What a disgrace! What a disgrace! The descendants of the Maccabees
lie in the mud, powerless to defend themselves."
He promised
himself then that if he lived, he would take his family to the Jewish homeland to
help build a future for the Jewish people.
I stand here today as Israel's Prime Minister because my grandfather kept
that promise.
So many
other Israelis have a similar story: a parent or a grandparent who fled every conceivable
oppression, and came to Israel to start a new life in our ancient homeland.
Together,
we've transformed a bludgeoned Jewish people left for dead into a vibrant,
thriving nation, defending itself with the courage of modern Maccabees, developing
limitless possibilities for the future.
In our
time, the biblical prophecies have been realized: As the prophet Amos said: They
shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them,
They
shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
They
shall till gardens and eat their fruit.
And I
will plant them upon their soil, never to be uprooted again
.
ו
,
ובנו ערים נשמות
וי
ישב
ו
,
ו
נ
טעו כרמים ושתו
את יי
נם,
ונ
ט
עתים על אדמתם
ולא ינטשו עו
ד
.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
The people
of Israel have come home, never to be uprooted again.