Likud ministers warn Iran, say Biden must not repeat Obama’s ‘mistakes’

Likud ministers refrain from confirming whether Israel is behind a deadly raid in Syria overnight, but warn Iran that the Jewish state won’t tolerate its military presence in the neighboring country or its development of nuclear weapons.

“We don’t acknowledge this or other strikes,” says Likud’s Tzachi Hanegbi in an interview with the Kan public broadcaster. “The Iranians want permission from Assad to act freely in Syria, to transform it into the model of Hezbollah [the Lebanon-based Iran-backed terror group]. This is all to deter us from acting against its nuclear program.”

Hanegbi also warns the incoming Biden administration against “appeasing” Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) is seen with Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and Tzachi Hanegbi during a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset on July 27, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

“The most important thing is to convince the incoming American administration not to repeat the mistakes of the Obama administration — to appease the Iranians. This only increased Iranian aggression and defiance. They saw this as American weakness,” adds Hanegbi.

Likud minister Yuval Steinitz, in an interview with Army Radio, says Israel is engaged in a “tremendous effort against Iran and its attempts to obtain nuclear weapons and establish itself [militarily] in Syria.”