Netanyahu: Either change Iran deal or cancel it

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Israel wants the Iranian nuclear deal to be amended or canceled altogether, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says.

Delivering statements to the press next to Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Netanyahu rejected recent reports claiming that Israel and Saudi Arabia are no longer interested in scrapping the landmark deal, which was reached between Iran and six world powers in 2015.

“There have been stories about Israel’s purported position on the nuclear deal with Iran. Let me take this opportunity to clarify. I’ll be straightforward: This is a bad deal. Either fix it, or cancel it. This is Israel’s position.”

His statement is significant because the Iran deal is up for review in October in the United States, where President Trump has hinted at the possibility that his country could pull out of it.

Netanyahu also condemns Iran’s involvement in global terrorism, saying that the regime and its proxies continue to operate even in Latin America.

Addressing reporters at the Casa Rosada presidential compound, Netanyahu says there is no doubt that Iran was behind the two major terror attacks that struck Jewish and Israeli sites in Buenos Aires in the early 1990s. He thanks Macri for his commitment to find out the truth about the attacks and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Iran’s terror has not stopped since then. They have a terror machine that encompasses the entire world, operating terror cells in many continents, including in Latin America,” Netanyahu says, speaking in English.

“In the case of Iran, it’s not only merely terror but the quest for nuclear weapons that concerns us and should concern the entire international community. We understand the danger of a rogue nation having atomic bombs.”

— Raphael Ahren