Israeli Prime Minister Welcomes US Decision to Withdraw from JCPOA

Israeli Prime Minister and other leaders of the country welcomed the decision of the US President to withdraw from the JCPOA and impose 'the toughest sanctions' against Iran, thanking Donald Trump for this 'brave' decision. Moments later, Syrian news agency reported airstrikes in Damascus. Just before the airstrikes in Syria, which regional news sources attributed to Israel, and coinciding with the announcement of the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, the Israeli army raised the alert level of its forces in the Golan Heights at the border with Syria and instructed border area officials to open shelters due to 'suspicious movements of Iranian forces in Syria.' Benjamin Netanyahu immediately appeared on television after the announcement of the US President's withdrawal from the JCPOA, stating that President Trump's decision is 'wise and brave' because 'if the JCPOA remained, Iran would return to uranium enrichment within a few years to produce a complete arsenal of nuclear bombs.' Netanyahu added that the JCPOA 'gave billions of dollars to Iran, which it spent on war in the Middle East; if it is doing this now when it does not have a nuclear arsenal, imagine what it would do if it achieves nuclear capability.' According to him, 'all the people of Israel should appreciate the leadership of the US.' Since the six world powers reached an agreement with Iran, the Israeli Prime Minister has stated that his country would never accept this 'disastrous agreement.' Trump, in announcing his decision at the White House to withdraw from the JCPOA, referred to Netanyahu's recent unveiling of Iranian nuclear documents obtained by Israel as one of the justifications for his decision. Some observers in Israel have said in recent days that Netanyahu unveiled the Iranian nuclear documents in coordination with and even at the request of Donald Trump to strengthen his decision. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu, who cut short his trip to Cyprus to be in Jerusalem at the time of Trump's announcement regarding the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, is scheduled to head to Moscow on Wednesday unless an unexpected security event occurs in his country. Despite Israel's clear satisfaction with the US decision, Russia emphasized that it is disappointed with the US withdrawal from the JCPOA. Meanwhile, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's Defense Minister, also reacted to Trump's decision on Tuesday, stating: 'The leader of the free world tonight clearly and decisively told the Ayatollah regime enough is enough!' According to Lieberman, 'Iran is a dictatorship that supports and provides terror and death around the world and is a terrorist entity that aspires to obtain nuclear weapons, and the brave step of US leadership will ultimately lead to the downfall of this regime of terror and oppression (in Tehran).' Reuven Rivlin, the President of Israel, who holds a ceremonial position, also stated in a statement: 'The US step to safeguard the security of the State of Israel, the security of the region, and the security of the entire free world is important and significant.' According to Rivlin, 'Alongside the nuclear threat, we do not forget for a moment the arms race that Iran is leading at our borders, and we are closely and responsibly monitoring these developments to ensure the security of our people.' Rivlin added: 'The threat of stabilizing Iran's military presence is not only for the State of Israel, and therefore, international pressure in confronting this danger is essential.' Alongside Israeli officials, leaders of opposition parties in the country also joined the long line of those praising the US President. Among them, Yair Lapid, Netanyahu's main rival in the opposition, said: 'Following the important US decision, we must now exert all our political efforts to ensure that Europeans, Chinese, and Russians align with the US step and prevent Iran from returning to the path of producing nuclear bombs.' In this context, Hassan Rouhani stated: 'The nuclear agreement will now be between Iran and five other countries.' Live coverage: Latest developments on the JCPOA after the US withdrawal. Rouhani: The US withdrawal from the JCPOA could cause us problems for two or three months. Trump will announce his decision on the JCPOA on Tuesday night Tehran time.