Netanyahu: We Stand with the People of Iran

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, announced that the country stands with the Iranian people who oppose the Islamic Republic regime. Speaking on Monday, August 29, after his second meeting with John Bolton, the U.S. National Security Advisor, in Israel, Mr. Netanyahu pointed out: "It is important for the people of Iran to know that our struggle is not against them." According to the Twitter page of the Israeli Prime Minister, he added: "Our struggle is against a regime that ruthlessly suppresses them, arrests unveiled women, executes homosexuals in public, and prevents the realization of the desire for freedom for millions of Iranians." According to the website "Ynet," Benjamin Netanyahu also stated in his meeting with John Bolton that "the U.S. and Israel are increasingly coordinating their views on Iran and Syria." According to Mr. Netanyahu, "The lifting of sanctions (following the signing of the JCPOA during the previous U.S. administration) allowed Iran to spend billions of dollars on its war machine in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon." The Israeli Prime Minister added that "all countries should sanction Iran like the U.S." Netanyahu mentioned that he raises the call for sanctions against Iran "on behalf of many countries in the region." He did not specify a particular country, but it seems his reference was to Arab countries aligned with Israel regarding Iran, such as Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, John Bolton, the U.S. National Security Advisor, in his second and final working meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities "is a very high priority for the U.S." and emphasized that Washington is working to convince Europe to take stronger steps against Iran. According to Israeli media, Mr. Bolton said at a press conference at the end of his second meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister: "It was to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear capability that Donald Trump, the U.S. President, withdrew from the bad nuclear deal with Iran; reinstated sanctions against Iran, and is pursuing efforts to convince European friends to take severe steps against Iran." Mr. Trump has warned that Iran "will never be allowed" to access nuclear weapons. On May 8 of this year, he withdrew the United States from the nuclear agreement with Iran known as the JCPOA and stated that Washington's sanctions against Tehran would be reinstated. Meanwhile, John Bolton stated that Iran should be targeted by sanctions due to its continued ballistic missile program, support for terrorism, and activities in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and other areas, as these are not only regional threats but also global dangers. The U.S. National Security Advisor also said that "the alliance between Israel and the U.S. and their nations has never been stronger, and Donald Trump has made strengthening this alliance a cornerstone of his policy, and your government (Israel) has also based its policy on this." On August 6, Bolton, in an interview with Fox News, had called on senior Iranian officials to completely and verifiably abandon their ballistic missile program and what he referred to as the "nuclear weapons program" and to engage in dialogue with the U.S. President. The National Security Advisor of the White House had described Iran's readiness to negotiate with Donald Trump over the nuclear agreement as a sign of Iran's seriousness. Donald Trump expressed his willingness to meet with Iranian leaders on August 8, stating that he has "no conditions" in this regard. However, Iranian officials reacted negatively to this offer. Simultaneously, while the U.S. National Security Advisor spoke about Washington's efforts to persuade Europe to impose sanctions against Iran, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, called on Europeans for quicker actions to preserve the JCPOA. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, has also recently emphasized that Europe has only relied on words in its commitment to preserve the JCPOA and has not taken necessary actions. Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that they are waiting for actions from Europe to preserve the JCPOA and that Tehran will remain in the JCPOA for now. This comes as, following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and the reinstatement of sanctions against Iran, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, announced on August 16 that a special group has been formed in the State Department to collaborate and implement Washington's policies regarding Tehran. In this context, Brian Hook, the Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, who heads the "Iran Action Group," stated that experts and elites in international relations from the State Department and other government departments will be present in this body. He added: "The U.S. government continues its efforts to create broad consensus at the international level" and "we will try to enhance cooperation with our allies and partners internationally and reach consensus on contentious issues." Meanwhile, according to Israeli media, John Bolton met with Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's Defense Minister, in Tel Aviv before leaving Israel for Geneva. The military presence of Iran in Syria was the main topic of these discussions. Previously, John Bolton had met with Nikolai Patrushev, the National Security Advisor of Russia, in Geneva, Switzerland. Setting pathways for implementing the common demands of the U.S., Israel, and Russia regarding Iran's role in Syria was discussed in this meeting. The White House has stated that Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, emphasized the need for Iranian military forces to leave Syria during his meeting last month with Donald Trump in Finland. Israel has repeatedly spoken out against the military presence of Iran and its allies in Syria over the past two years and has emphasized that it will take action against them. Meanwhile, Tehran has rejected the establishment of its military forces in Syria, stating that only its advisors are present in the country.