Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an address to air force commanders from around the world, reiterated Jerusalem’s strong support for the Trump Administration’s approach toward the threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran – asserting Israel’s resolve in thwarting Tehran from entrenching itself along Israel’s northern frontier and its aspiration to acquire nuclear weapons. “Israel deeply appreciates the strong leadership of President Trump and Secretary Pompeo’s 12-point plan to block Iran’s aggression, and I can tell you with confidence that the appreciation that I just expressed is shared, broadly shared, by many others in the Middle East. This is not just an Israeli position. I hope that this clear American message was well understood in Tehran. And like the U.S., we in Israel have no quarrel with the people of Iran. But we are determined to roll back Iran’s aggression. We will not let Iran establish military bases in Syria and we will not let Iran develop nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said.
Following Netanyahu’s comments, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who concluded a tour of the West Bank, warned the Ayatollah regime in Tehran to immediately terminate its military activities in Syria, or else ‘face the consequences of war’. The Israeli top Defense official stressed that while Israel has “no interest in a conflict on Syrian soil,” it will have no other choice but to act again to assure that Jerusalem’s declared ‘red-lines’ are kept. Lieberman further underscored Israel’s consistency in clearly voicing its red lines, a position that has been backed with extremely clear and consistent action, as well.
Meanwhile in Tehran, the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at the United States for pulling-out of the agreement, claiming ‘its action showed Iran could not deal with a country that does not keep to its commitments.’ In his first public remarks since U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a list of demands that aim to thwart Iran’s aggressive policies across the Middle East, Khamenei expressed revulsion at what he suggested was the casual and boastful nature of the Trump Administration. In addition to his rhetoric directed toward the United States, the Iranian supreme leader set-out a series of conditions for European powers if they genuinely aspire to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal, including steps to safeguard trade with the Islamic republic and guarantees for Iranian oil exports.
Meanwhile in Washington, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas concluded a meeting with his American counterpart Mike Pompeo, during which the two top diplomats discussed “Washington’s stance on the Iran nuclear deal.” Following their meeting, the German Foreign Minister pointed to the fact that Europe and the United States remain deeply divided over how to proceed. Maas further stressed that there still remains “a long way from reaching a compromise” between the two sides, as the United States and its European allies have taken two completely different paths. “I think that we are still a long way from reaching a compromise. We have both taken two completely different paths. The path we have agreed on with the French and the British is the one that we will continue to take in Europe. I am certain that should it come to a meeting between the U.S., Germany, France and Britain we will be given a more concrete idea of the path the U.S. is taking, so today we discussed the positions that we have that are already known and no new demands were made of us. So I think that at the moment there can be no talk of a compromise being close. For that our opinions on the path we should take are too different. But we have to continue dialogue on this,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.