Danny Ayalon
Danny AyalonIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Former Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said on Wednesday that the speech by Iran’s president at the United Nations General Assembly is further proof that the country plans to continue to develop its nuclear program.

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech last at the UN General Assembly proves once again that the policy and intentions of the regime in Tehran have not changed and that its goal is to remove the severe international sanctions which are destroying the Iranian economy," said Ayalon.

"Rouhani’s speech was cynical, hypocritical and full of lies to absurdity. Rouhani tried to present Iran as a peace-loving nation and a human rights defender. We should not be deceived by the beautiful words that try to cover up the reign of terror in Tehran which tramples human rights, murders its opponents, carries out international terrorism, and tirelessly continues with its nuclear program that poses a danger to world peace and stability,” he added.

"Especially now it is more important than ever to continue to expose the crimes of Iran, to persist and even worsen the sanctions against it because this is the way to bring about a change in its policy and to ensure peace and security and stability in the Middle East and the world," said Ayalon.

Ayalon, formerly the Israeli ambassador to the United States, added that the international community must set clear conditions to the Iranian regime: an immediate end to enrichment of uranium, removing all the uranium from Iran, dismantling the nuclear facilities at Fordow and Arak and ceasing the production of centrifuges.

Shortly after Tuesday’s speech by Rouhani, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that the speech reflects the Iranian plan, namely to "talk and buy time in order to promote the ability of Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.”

“Rouhani spoke about human rights while Iranian forces are taking part in the massacre of innocent civilians in Syria, he condemned terrorism while the Iranian regime carries out terrorism in dozens of countries around the world," said Netanyahu, who added that although Rouhani said that nuclear weapons "contradict Iranian morality" a report by the UN’s atomic agency indicates otherwise.

Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz also dismissed the speech, saying it offered nothing new.

Steinitz said the new Iranian president tried "to cheat the world, and unfortunately many people are willing to be cheated."

"We heard a lot of new rhetoric but zero new steps or even zero new commitments to meet the UN Security Council resolutions," he told reporters.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)