Netanyahu: Khamenei Explained How He Wants to Destroy Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader's order to the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization to resume uranium enrichment as "Iran's strategy for the destruction of Israel." According to Reuters, Netanyahu stated on Tuesday, June 5, "Ayatollah Khamenei, the ruler of Iran, announced his intention to destroy Israel two days ago and explained how he intends to do this yesterday; through unlimited enrichment to produce a stockpile of nuclear bombs." Netanyahu added, "This is not surprising to us; we will not allow Iran to have a nuclear bomb." The Prime Minister's reference is to the instructions given by Ali Khamenei on Monday, the 29th anniversary of the founder of the Islamic Republic's death, to the Atomic Energy Organization, including a demand to prepare for uranium enrichment up to 190,000 SWU "currently within the framework of the JCPOA." The head and spokesperson of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization announced on Tuesday the start of necessary actions to implement the leader's orders; Iran simultaneously announced that in an official letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, while emphasizing its commitment based on the JCPOA and continuing to adhere to the Agency's safeguards, it would officially inform this international nuclear watchdog of its new actions but emphasized that Iran "does not intend to produce a nuclear bomb." However, according to Israeli media, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's Defense Minister, said on Tuesday that the leader's order "reflects the depth of the Iranian regime's fear"; Lieberman added, "The U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA has led to the largest labor protests and demonstrations in Iran in the past 40 years in the last month." Israel Katz, Israel's Minister of Intelligence, also said on Tuesday that "if the Iranians do not surrender now" and try to return to unsupervised uranium enrichment, "the President of the United States and all the Western coalition must send them a clear message," which "the Arabs and Israel will certainly join this move." The intensification of the Israel-Iran crisis comes as Benjamin Netanyahu has traveled to Europe to garner support from the leaders of three European powers for Israel's and the U.S.'s views against Iran. The Israeli Prime Minister arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning, a day after his meeting and discussions with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and expressed this view that Iran wants to destroy Israel shortly before his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, in front of hundreds of activists and leaders of the 600,000-strong Jewish community in France. Netanyahu's reference to Khamenei's "announcement of the intention to destroy Israel" also relates to a tweet published on the account attributed to the Iranian leader on Sunday this week. The tweet published on the Khamenei.ir account was actually a rehash of the Iranian Supreme Leader's statement from 2012; however, it seems to have been republished on the eve of "Quds Day" during the last Friday of Ramadan to emphasize Iran's ongoing policy against Israel and continued support for Palestinians, alongside the hashtag "Great Return March" of the Palestinians. The "Great Return March" refers to the recent two-month protest actions of Palestinians along the Gaza-Israel borders, which took place on the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment while Palestinians still dream of forming their own country. The mentioned account first published the Iranian Supreme Leader's statement six years ago: "Israel is a cancerous tumor in West Asia that must be eradicated; this can and will happen." These words of Ali Khamenei, at the same time, echo the words of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Iranian regime, which has been the cornerstone of the Islamic Republic's policy for the past 40 years. However, the republishing of this statement on the Twitter account attributed to the Iranian leader coincided with the Israeli Prime Minister's European tour against Iran, and he referred to this tweet on Monday and Tuesday in Berlin and Paris. The Israeli Prime Minister on Monday, in a joint press conference with his German counterpart in Berlin, referring to this tweet, said that Iran wants to "kill six million more Jews" and "wants to do this by obtaining nuclear weapons"; he expressed satisfaction that Mrs. Merkel also condemned this tweet. Mrs. Merkel called for the removal of this tweet and also for increasing pressure on Iran to withdraw its forces from Syria, stating that Israel's security concerns regarding Iran's influence in the region are understandable. The German leader emphasized that her country has differences with Israel and the U.S. regarding the preservation of the JCPOA, although preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is a "common goal of Germany and Israel, two friends and allies."