Netanyahu: Iran is a Weakling
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
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.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has labeled the Iran regime as “weaker than people think” and that is susceptible to international pressure. Speaking with Wolf Blitzer of CNN, the Prime Minister said, “The Iranian people detest this regime, as has been plainly evident in the recent election fraud. But, equally, I think that Iran is susceptible because its economy is susceptible. And the time for pressure is now, with or without talks.”
His chiding of the Iranian government's strength came one day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a military parade speech that Iran “will cut the hands off” of anyone who attacks it.
The Prime Minister refuted recent remarks by Russian President Dimitri Medvedev that President Shimon Peres promised him that Israel would not attack Iran, whose nuclear development plans is feared to include production of a nuclear warhead to be aimed at Israel.
Asked about the option of attacking Iran if economic sanctions cannot halt its unsupervised nuclear program, Prime Minister Netanyahu replied, "I'm willing to say what President Obama has said, namely, that all options are on the table is a position we support.” The Prime Minister refused to answer what he called a hypothetical question concerning the possibility of Israel attacking Iran unilaterally, without American support.
He also declined to comment on a declaration by former U.S. national security advisor Zbig Brzezinski, who said earlier this week, that the United States should shoot down Israeli planes if the Jewish State attacks Iran.
Expressing hope that the international community understands the immediate threat of a nuclear Islamic Republic, the Prime Minister added, “There are ways of pressing this regime right now, because it's weak…. It's been exposed for what it is. It tyrannizes its own people. The Iranian people detest this regime, as has been plainly evident in the recent election fraud. But, equally, I think that Iran is susceptible because its economy is susceptible. And the time for pressure is now, with or without talks.”
In a separate interview, Charles Gibson of ABC News suggested to Prime Minister Netanyahu that a weak Iranian regime might make it even more dangerous. The Prime Minister replied, “I think that it becomes more dangerous if it becomes stronger. And it becomes stronger if it develops nuclear weapons. The experience of such regimes is that once they pass a threshold, then you can have even a primitive society - and there's one in Asia - that is almost an anthill society developing nuclear weapons and all of a sudden it becomes important like China or Japan - but much more dangerous. And I don't think Japan [and] China are dangerous.”
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