Netanyahu: The Start of Severe US Sanctions Against Iran is a 'Historic Day'

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, referred to the start of the 'crippling' US sanctions against Iran on Monday, November 5, as a 'historic day' and stated that the tough sanctions would be a serious 'noose' around the neck of the 'Iranian terrorism-supporting regime.' He regarded Donald Trump's 'brave' decision as important for 'stability, peace, and security.' At the beginning of a Likud party meeting, which he leads, Netanyahu emphasized the importance of sanctions imposed through SWIFT against Iran. He said, 'I have always said it is important that Iran has no credit and banking transactions; I raised this request in my meetings with Steve Mnuchin, the US Treasury Secretary, and I am pleased that the US has now considered this element.' The Israeli Prime Minister added, 'I have spent years of my time and energy confronting the Iranian threat; for this goal, I have traveled almost everywhere in the world, and today we saw the fruits of our long and tireless struggle.' Netanyahu stated, 'Today, under the leadership of (Donald) Trump, the US imposed severely crippling sanctions against Iran, the toughest sanctions since efforts began to stop this country's aggression.' He asserted that Europe should also stand against Iran like the US. Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's Defense Minister, also tweeted on Monday that Trump's 'fundamental decision' is a 'change of realities that the region has been waiting for.' Lieberman wrote that the US 'is dealing a significant blow to Iran's influence in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, and Yemen with one move; President Trump, you have done it again; thank you.' Doron Shalom, a former senior officer in the research department of Israel's Military Intelligence, told Yedioth Ahronoth over the weekend that 'the sanctions have created a significant transformation in Iran's domestic scene; their economic situation has worsened and may lead to a regime change or a change in their policies; they are in dire straits, and their options are either to reach a new nuclear agreement or collapse; this is the outcome that John Bolton, the US National Security Advisor, wants to achieve; to softly pull them down.' The claim by this former Israeli officer regarding the outcome that Bolton and the US government want to achieve comes while Washington emphasizes that it stands with the people of Iran and its goal with the sanctions is to change the behavior of the Iranian regime. The imposition of 'crippling' sanctions against Tehran, especially the 'cutting off of Iran's oil exports,' has been a long-standing demand of the Israeli government, which has turned the two governments into the region's most hardened enemies since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, and their confrontations have intensified in various arenas.