Ayalon: A nuclear Iran would hurt US interests ‘almost more’ than Israel
Deputy FM says no pressure on Israel from Washington one way or another
A nuclear Iran would threaten US interests “almost more” than it would Israel, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Thursday evening.
He added that there was no factual basis behind Iran’s blaming Israel, at the United Nations Security Council, for killing Iranian scientists.
Speaking on Channel 10’s “London & Kirshenbaum” news show, Ayalon said American interests and policy are those of non-proliferation of nuclear arms, and that allowing for a nuclear Iran would contradict those values.
“There is no US pressure on Israel to act one way or another,” he said, adding the countries are in constant open and constructive dialogue. No one in Washington is telling Israeli officials what to decide or do, he added.
When asked whether sanctions could stop Iran, Ayalon answered that they could, provided they were serious and widely enforced. The US, EU and most Arab countries don’t want Iran to achieve nuclear capability — a goal shared with Israel.
Addressing the Iranian move at the security council Thursday morning, Ayalon said Israel would not respond to Iran’s accusations because they have no factual basis. A Security Council resolution condemning the recent bombings of Israeli diplomats around the world is in the making, he added.