Former Prime Minister and Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu called US policy on Iran "weak" and said that Israel needed to oppose the Biden Administration on the issue.
"We're the first target, but the rest of the world is merely the next target," Netanyahu said in in interview with Laura Cellier on i24NEWS.
Netanyahu said that his advice to the Western leaders involved in the talks over Iran's nuclear program in Vienna is to be willing to walk away. "I say that to them all the time - or demand a better deal. A deal that forces Iran to dismantle its nuclear military infrastructure, that doesn’t let the develop their ballistic missiles to deliver a weapon, that stops weapon development, that stops terror, that ties the progress in lifting the restrictions on Iran to Iran’s behavior - not to the change of calendar, which is what this deal does. So I think yes, that is what I would advise but again I would say that from my point of view as having been the Prime Minister against these kinds of deals for a long time - the most important thing to say is with a deal or without a deal, Israel must do what it needs to do, to defend itself against this extraordinary threat to its existence and its future.”
"So I think the issue is not the identity of the Administration but the policies, And the policy now, I think is weak ,and the right policy from Israel’s point of view should be to speak out against it. Look, I went, Laura, to the US. Congress to speak out against the sitting American President. I didn’t do that lightheartedly. I knew that I was doing something unprecedented, but I knew the survival of my country, and in my opinion, the survival of many countries was at stake, so I did it. I spoke at UN forums, I spoke on endless television interviews, I did everything I could to mobilize the Senate and the Congress against what I thought, was a dangerous agreement for the US, for Israel and for everyone else. That’s what I think should be done now. If it will be done now, people will pay attention. Nobody will be more pro-Israel, than the Israelis themselves. No one will be more passionate, more committed than Israel itself so we have to communicate that passion, that commitment, that willingness to face these threatening odds, however dreadful and if we do it others will follow. They only follow if you lead,” Netanyahu said.