Netanyahu: World must ‘keep Iran’s feet to the fire’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the world to “keep Iran’s feet to the fire” in an interview with Fox News which aired Friday, a day after he addressed the United Nations.

In a series of interviews with American media outlets wrapping up his weeklong trip to the US, Netanyahu called for greater pressure on the Islamic Republic and thorough inspections to ensure it abides by the nuclear deal reached earlier this year.

“We have to keep Iran’s feet to the fire, we have to make sure it abides by its obligations under the nuclear deal,” he told Fox’s Greta Van Susteren.

Driving home a point he emphasized in his UN speech, Netanyahu said the international community should “bolster those forces that are working against Iran’s aggression in the region” and combat its global terrorism network. Foremost among the countries on the front line is Israel.

He said Israel wouldn’t tolerate Iranian aggression against Israel in Lebanon and Syria, nor the transfer of sophisticated armaments to Hezbollah from Syrian territory.

“And I’ve made it very clear what our policy will be, and that’s to fight this,” he said. “If we’re attacked, we attack back. We’ve done it in Syria.”

“That’s a very clear policy.”

“So I look forward to the opportunity to discuss with President Obama to put flesh on his serious commitment to bolster Israel’s security in the face of this new challenge,” he said.

“We have to tear down Iran’s global terror network because it’s not merely increasing its aggression in the region, it’s building terror cells on five continents, including in this hemisphere.”

While the prime minister emphasized the close ties between the US and Israel, he also drove home Jerusalem’s relationship with Moscow in an interview with CNN set to air on Sunday.

Netanyahu told Fareed Zakaria that, contrary to the enmity of the Cold War, “I think we’ve changed the relationship. And it’s, on the whole, good.”

“We don’t want to go back to the days when, you know, Russia and Israel were in an adversarial position,” he said.

The prime minister met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month in Moscow, as did Israeli and Russian military brass, in an effort to coordinate on Syria. Russia launched its first airstrikes in Syria this week after a military build-up at an airbase on the Mediterranean coast. The campaign, the West argues, aims to prop up Russia’s ally President Bashar Assad, while Moscow insists its fighting against the Islamic State.

“I went to Moscow to make it clear that we should avoid a clash between Russian forces and Israeli forces,” Netanyahu said.

Reiterating a point made in his address to the United Nations, Netanyahu said Israel would defend itself against any threats against Israel emanating from Syria.

“In Syria, I’ve defined my goals. They’re to protect the security of my people and my country,” he told CNN. “Russia has different goals. But they shouldn’t clash.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-world-must-keep-irans-feet-to-the-fire/