Netanyahu: Iran placing weapons in Syria ‘for our destruction’

Iran is seeking to base “dangerous weapons” in Syria “to be used against Israel for the specific purpose of our destruction,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells the leaders of Greece and Cyprus during a trilateral summit in the Cypriot capital Nicosia.

Netanyahu tells Cyprus’s President Nicos Anastasiades: “You said, Mr. President, a minute ago, that it is unimaginable that anyone would challenge the right of the State of Israel to exist. In fact, there is a force that is doing precisely that, and that is the regime in Tehran. It openly calls daily for our destruction, the elimination of Israel from the face of the earth, and it practices unmitigated aggression against us and against anyone else in the region. It has a terror network that is spread throughout the world. It is now seeking to implant very dangerous weapons in Syria to be used against Israel for the specific purpose of our destruction.”

He warns the two leaders that Iran’s ambitions go beyond Israel.

“It is in the interest of everyone to prevent this Iranian aggression. If they reach the Mediterranean, they wish to establish military naval bases in the Mediterranean for Iranian ships and Iranian submarines. This is a palpable threat against all of us. I think that everybody recognizes the malign intentions of Iran, and I think everybody also recognizes Israel’s right of self-defense, which is really our common defense.”