Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Iran's regime is not merely a Jewish problem"
The
Israeli prime minister has warned that a deal under discussion on
Iran's nuclear programme could "pave its way to the bomb", rather than
block it.
Talks on Iran's nuclear programme are nearing a critical late-March deadline for an outline agreement to be reached.
It also comes just two weeks before a closely fought election in Israel.
Mr Netanyahu insisted that he was not trying to meddle in internal US politics.
The White House had criticised his plan to address Congress on the matter.
It had complained that the speech - at Republican invitation, without consulting the White House - was interfering in domestic politics by trying to swell domestic opposition to any Iran deal.
The US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China are seeking to reach agreement to curtail Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
'March of conquest'
Mr Netanyahu was greeted with whoops and cheers as he made his way to the podium, shaking hands as he went.
He insisted the Israel-US relationship "must remain above politics" and that he was "grateful for the support of the American people".
But he quickly went on to the meat of his speech, saying Iran had proven time and time again that it could not be trusted.
The country was on a "march of conquest, subjugation and terror", he said.
"Iran's regime is as radical as ever, the ideology is deeply rooted in militant Islam... it will always be an enemy of US".
Its participation in the battle against Islamic State did not make it a friend, he said: "This enemy of your enemy is your enemy."
Mr Netanyahu went on to criticise the likely contours of the deal currently being negotiated in Switzerland.
He said it relied heavily on international monitoring, when Iran "plays a pretty good game of hide and cheat with UN inspectors".
He said it would leave in Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure and lift restrictions on its nuclear programmes in a decade.
"This deal doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb, it paves Iran's path to the bomb," Mr Netanyahu said, claiming Iran could have 100 nuclear bombs in five years.
"The days when the Jews remain passive in the face of genocidal enemies are over," he said to big cheers.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31716684
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