Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Binyamin NetanyahuIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded Tuesday to United States President Barack Obama’s statements regarding Iran in his speech to the United Nations on Tuesday night.

“I appreciate President Obama’s declaration that ‘conciliatory words will have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable,’ and I look forward to discussing it with him in Washington next week,” he said.

Netanyahu warned, “Iran thinks that conciliatory words and symbolic action will allow it to keep moving toward a bomb. Like North Korea before it, Iran continues to try to get sanctions removed through cosmetic concessions, while maintaining its ability to quickly build a nuclear weapon.”

While Netanyahu warned against Iran, MK Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi/Jewish Home) had a warning for him. She urged the PM not to give in to the international community, “and especially not to pressure from the United States.”

Like Netanyahu, Shaked expressed concern that Iran’s new approach to the U.S. is just for show. “It’s the same woman in a different cloak,” she declared.

“The Western World, and at its head, Obama, must understand that the Iranians aspire to create a nuclear bomb, and must commit to stopping this process, whether through sanctions or with military action,” she urged, speaking at the One State for One People conference in Jerusalem.

Shaked urged Netanyahu not to give in to international pressure.

“The Prime Minister must not surrender to pressure… In contrast to those who think that concessions are the answer, the world thinks otherwise, and respects determination, assertiveness, and standing on principle,” she argued.

“Forty years ago on the morning of Yom Kippur, the government decided not to begin a military assault despite knowing that there would be war in just a few hours, because it did not want to annoy the Americans. If we had begun the attack then, many soldiers’ lives would have been saved,” she said.

“So, Netanyahu must worry first and foremost for the state of Israel’s interests, not anyone else’s interests,” she concluded.