Netanyahu: It is better to confront Iran now than later

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, accused Iran of threatening Israel by transferring advanced weapons to Syria and stated that it is better for his country to confront Iran's actions sooner rather than later. Israel has repeatedly warned in recent months that it will not tolerate Iran's continued military presence in Syria, and some recent attacks in Syria, which resulted in the deaths of Iranian military personnel, have been attributed to Israel. Through the voices of its Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Israel has emphasized that in countering the actions of the Islamic Republic, it will target objectives within Iran's territory if necessary, although it has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in recent attacks in Syria. According to an Associated Press report, the Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday accused Iran of transferring advanced military equipment to Syrian territory with the aim of targeting Israel 'on the battlefield or at home.' He added, 'We are determined to stop Iran's aggressive approach even if it means war, and such a thing is better to happen now than later.' Mr. Netanyahu clarified that Israel is not seeking to create tension, but 'we must be prepared for every scenario.' Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, Israel has long identified Iran as its greatest threat, citing Iran's nuclear activities, Tehran's support for militia groups across the region, and the repeated calls from Iranian leaders for the elimination of Israel from the map of the Middle East as evidence of the Islamic Republic's threatening nature towards its existence. Meanwhile, Iran's military presence in Syria in recent years, aimed at supporting and stabilizing Bashar al-Assad's government, is opposed by Israel, which does not want this 'greatest threat to Israel's existence' near its borders. The Israeli Prime Minister's emphasis on the need to be prepared to confront Iran comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is set to announce his decision regarding the JCPOA in less than a week. Mr. Trump, who has called for his European allies to address the flaws and shortcomings of the JCPOA, has emphasized that otherwise, he will not extend the suspension of sanctions on Iran and may even withdraw from the JCPOA. Israel opposes the Iran nuclear deal, and the Prime Minister believes that this agreement does not prevent Iran from enriching uranium to a level suitable for the construction of nuclear weapons. Last week, Mr. Netanyahu unveiled thousands of documents that the Israeli security service recently extracted from Iran, which he claims show that Iran has been working on a nuclear weapon project contrary to its claims about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and has lied about the military aspects of its nuclear activities. Under the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, Iran agreed to lift severe economic sanctions by imposing restrictions on its nuclear program, and according to the Associated Press, although the Prime Minister did not reveal evidence of Iran violating the nuclear agreement, he stated that the obtained documents prove that Iran is not trustworthy. Many believe that Israel is the only country with nuclear weapons in the Middle East, although Israeli leaders have always deliberately kept their nuclear capability ambiguous and do not officially acknowledge it.