Netanyahu: Iran has provided more advanced weapons to its proxy groups

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Iran has "provided more advanced weapons to its proxy arms in the Middle East in recent months." According to Israel Radio on Monday, June 8, Netanyahu made this statement in a message for the annual conference of the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post. He named Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian territories, as well as Houthi fighters in Yemen, as "Iran's proxy arms in the region" that have received more weapons from Iran recently. Netanyahu claimed that "Iran's aggressive nature is consuming the entire Middle East." In this message, he also stated that not only is Iran's nuclear program "dangerous," but Iran is also "conducting cyber attacks against Israel and other countries in the region, and even against Western countries." According to the report, Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to a "bad deal" regarding Iran's nuclear program in negotiations that have reached their final stages. He claimed that if the final agreement between Iran and the 1+5 countries is based on the Lausanne understanding, Iran could still have enough enriched uranium to produce several atomic bombs. At the Jerusalem Post conference in New York, Yuval Steinitz, Israel's Minister of Infrastructure and Energy and responsible for "Iran's nuclear file," stated that Israel seeks to extend the deadline for negotiations with Iran to achieve a "good deal" and "not a half-baked deal full of flaws." Only three weeks remain until the end of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the world powers. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Jews present at the annual Jerusalem Post conference in New York booed and harshly mocked U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew several times, and each time he spoke of "the Obama administration's firm commitment to the security and existence of Israel," some attendees laughed loudly as if they were hearing a joke. This incident occurred during the meeting on Sunday, June 7, in New York, while Jack Lew, a conservative American Jew, has always firmly supported Zionism and the existence of Israel. The mockery was so intense that Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli minister present at the meeting, apologized to the U.S. Treasury Secretary and described him as "one of Israel's important supporters." In his remarks, Jack Lew defended the Obama administration's efforts to reach an agreement that "ensures Israel's security" and also stated that assessments regarding a significant improvement in Iran's economic situation immediately after reaching a final nuclear agreement and the influx of large sums of money to Iran are "a myth," and if the agreement is violated, sanctions can be reinstated. The U.S. Treasury Secretary's remarks were an implicit response to the statements made by the Prime Minister and other Israeli officials who claimed that the return of tens of billions of dollars of Iran's seized funds to its treasury after reaching a final nuclear agreement would allow Iran to provide more money to its armed allied groups in the region. According to the Jerusalem Post, Jack Lew also mentioned that the U.S. is striving for an agreement that allows agency inspectors to visit suspicious sites in Iran and have strong oversight mechanisms. The annual Jerusalem Post conference this year focused on the disputes between the Israeli and U.S. governments. Meanwhile, Israel Radio on Monday, June 8, quoted Yossi Cohen, Israel's National Security Advisor, as saying, "There is a consensus in all Israeli institutions that Iran is a threat." Some observers say that this statement from the National Security Advisor is likely a tacit response to comments made last Thursday by a senior Israeli military officer in an interview with Reuters. The unnamed senior Israeli officer told Reuters that the Israeli army has a positive outlook on a "transparent" nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers. Reuters noted that these comments indicate that the Israeli army does not fully align with Netanyahu's assessments regarding the final nuclear agreement with Iran. Meanwhile, Meir Dagan, former head of Mossad, also stated in an interview with Channel 10 of Israeli television that the order given by Netanyahu in 2010 for Israel to be on standby for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear sites was rejected by Mossad and the Israeli army as it was "an illegal order." Dagan said they made it clear to Netanyahu that placing Israel on standby would also put Iran on alert, and from that point on, like an avalanche, no one would be able to prevent the situation from worsening.