Netanyahu's Reaction to Khamenei's Statements on Iran's Unchanged Policies

Less than a week after the announcement of an agreement between Iran and world powers regarding Iran's nuclear program, while the U.S. Secretary of Defense is visiting the region to alleviate concerns from Israel and Saudi Arabia about this agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again strongly criticized the agreement and the negotiating powers with Iran. On Sunday, July 28, Netanyahu stated in his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that those who thought Iran would change its policies after this agreement received their answer from the remarks of Iran's leader on Saturday. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader and commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran, stated in two speeches before government officials and ambassadors of Islamic countries and in the Eid al-Fitr prayer sermons in Tehran that Iran's policies would not change and its support for the 'oppressed nations of Bahrain, Yemen, the Palestinians, the valiant fighters of Hezbollah, and the governments and peoples of Iraq and Syria' would continue. According to the Associated Press, referencing Khamenei's statements, Netanyahu said in his remarks on Sunday directed at the negotiating powers that they heard the leader's 'aggressive and decisive' speech and that 'Iranians do not hide their intention to use the funds being returned to Iran to spread terror and violence and continue the machinery of terror in the region.' Netanyahu also claimed that Israel had proposed a 'better solution' instead of this 'bad agreement,' which involved 'increasing pressure and heavier sanctions and creating more serious obstacles to Iran's nuclear program.' According to Netanyahu, 'as long as Iran does not stop its demand for the destruction of Israel and its slogan of death to America, it is not worthy of receiving any concessions or compromises.' At the same time, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Sunday, July 28, that a recent phone conversation between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Netanyahu was 'a very tough conversation.' According to Haaretz, it was following Netanyahu's severe anger expressed during this phone call that John Kerry, in a television interview in the U.S., indirectly referred to Netanyahu, stating that 'those who claim that a better agreement could have been reached with Iran are delusional.' Last Thursday, Netanyahu also openly clashed with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond during a press conference, accusing Britain, along with other negotiating countries, of not understanding the 'dangers' posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Netanyahu's harsh remarks on Sunday against countries that 'do not see the realities of Iran' came just before his meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, who began his meetings with the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister on the evening of Sunday, July 28.