Benny Gantz
Benny GantzElad Malka

Defense Minister Benny Gantz welcomed on Wednesday the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decision to censure Iran.

“The IAEA took an important step in its decision to censure Iran following its noncompliance with inspections, and in response to nuclear activities in various sites spread across the country. Iran has demonstrated once again that it threatens both regional and global peace,” he said.

“In addition to the condemnation, the international community must take concrete steps. Every monitoring device that is turned off should be met with diplomatic and economic sanctions. We must stand united and work closely together in facing Iranian regional and global aggression,” added Gantz.

The IAEA earlier adopted a resolution criticizing Iran for its refusal to cooperate with its inspectors and calling for Iran to begin cooperating with the nuclear watchdog agency.

This is the first time in two years that the IAEA Board of Governors has passed a condemnation against Iran. 30 countries voted in favor of the resolution, Russia and China opposed it, and three countries abstained - India, Pakistan and Libya.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett praised the IAEA's decision to pass the resolution, calling it "a clear warning light to Iran."

"This is a significant decision that exposes Iran's true face. The Board of Governors' decision determines that Iran is neither cooperating with the IAEA nor obeying its directives and is thus preventing the agency from fulfilling its important function and acting against military nuclear activity. The many countries that voted for the decision cooperated in order to block and prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons," he said.

"Today's IAEA vote is a clear warning light to Iran: If Iran continues its activity, the leading countries must bring the matter back to the UN Security Council."