Measures taken so far have set Iran’s nuclear program back ten years in development, but only a “credible military threat” can stop it completely, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
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The need to solve the problem of the Iranian atom Netanyahu called the “most important” reason for his return to the post of head of the Israeli government.
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“We estimate that our multi-pronged efforts, some of the operational nature, some of the economic or political nature, may have slowed down their original plans. They thought they would be where they are now, about ten years ago. We were able to slow them down, but could not stop completely,” Netanyahu said.
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“If you want to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power, the only way to stop them…is a military threat,” he added.
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As successful examples of neutralizing such threats in the past, he named the “cases” of Iraq and Syria, where nuclear reactors under construction were destroyed by the Israeli military, as well as Libya, which, according to Netanyahu, abandoned its nuclear program due to “a credible military threat from the American side.
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Netanyahu has repeatedly said that Israel will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons and is ready to use military force alone for this.
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“We don’t know if they (the Iranians, having got nuclear weapons) will behave rationally. And this can change the course of history in a negative way. I think it is the responsibility of all of us, in Israel, the United States, the free world and many of our Arab neighbors, to make everything in our power to prevent Iran from becoming a military nuclear power,” he said.
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“In many ways, it is because of this that I came back and got re-elected,” Netanyahu added.
