Netanyahu: Europe's 18 Million Euro Aid for the People of Iran is Like Poison

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the European Union's decision to allocate an 18 million euro package for several development projects in Iran as 'giving poison to the Iranian people' and 'an incorrect action,' blaming the EU for it. Netanyahu spoke at a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, alongside leaders from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia on Friday, September 2. The EU had announced on Thursday, September 1, its decision to allocate an 18 million euro package to Iran to assist with several infrastructure development projects in the country. However, according to Netanyahu, 'Iran's policy is aggression and terrorism in the region and beyond,' and the EU's financial package 'will be spent not on solving the water crisis or helping Iranian truck drivers but on expanding the missile program, strengthening the Revolutionary Guard, and advancing Iran's intentions in Syria and other parts of the Middle East.' Netanyahu referred to Iran's water crisis and the recent two rounds of strikes by truck drivers in Iran. According to Israeli news agencies, Netanyahu added in Lithuania that two weeks ago, when the Iranian foreign minister was meeting with European leaders, Iran was planning a terrorist act in Europe. This remark seems to refer to the arrest of a diplomat and an Iranian couple in Europe on suspicion of attempting an explosion at a meeting of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which took place two months ago in France with the presence of the leader of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization. He had previously stated that his country was involved in uncovering this plot; Iran has strongly denied the accusation, calling it a scenario to undermine its relations with Europe. In the press conference on Friday in Vilnius, Netanyahu also stated that Iran's nuclear program threatens Europe as well, and therefore Europe must take 'real' steps to counter the possibility of Iran acquiring military nuclear capability. According to Iranian news agencies, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, emphasized that the EU's 18 million euro budget is related to Iran's cooperation with the EU body and was allocated based on a statement from spring 2016. Mr. Qasemi stated that this money is not related to the upcoming EU economic package, which is to be presented within the framework of the JCPOA to confront US sanctions against Iran. Meanwhile, Iran considered this budget 'weak,' although it called it 'the right thing to do.' This is Netanyahu's second explicit comment regarding Iran in less than 24 hours. Netanyahu, who traveled to the Baltic Sea countries, welcomed the announcement on Thursday night that three major airlines, British Airways, Air France, and KLM, would stop their passenger flights to Iran in the near future, stating that other companies should do the same and 'they certainly will.' The decision by the three European companies to cut flights to Iran is not due to US sanctions against Iran but rather the economic unprofitability of these flights, a situation stemming from the shocking decline in the value of the Iranian rial against foreign currencies, which can be considered an indirect effect of the sanctions. Netanyahu's government, which has focused all its efforts on confronting Iran's nuclear program in recent years, has since the US withdrawal from the JCPOA on May 8, directed its efforts towards calling on other countries to follow US sanctions. Less than three months ago, during a trip to Germany, the UK, and France, Netanyahu stated that the political will of the governments of Berlin, London, and Paris to preserve the JCPOA would not be effective and that European companies would consider their interests in relation to the US. On Thursday, September 1, at the beginning of a four-day trip to northeastern Europe to meet with the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, he stated that in addition to bilateral relations and efforts to create a balance in Israel's relations with Eastern Europe against Western Europe, he encourages Baltic Sea countries to join in sanctioning steps against Iran. Netanyahu also praised Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis for his stance on Iran and 'standing alongside Israel.'