Netanyahu says Iran deal will only work if nuclear facilities blown up, otherwise military force needed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that a deal between the US and Tehran can only work if Iran’s nuclear facilities are physically blown up and dismantled.

After a White House visit in which he found himself unexpectedly and publicly out of sync with US President Donald Trump on key issues, Netanyahu tries to put a positive spin on the visit while laying out his positions on Iran nuclear talks, trade tariffs, and tensions with Turkey.

On Iran, Netanyahu says in a Hebrew video statement that he and Trump “agree that Iran will not have nuclear weapons. This can be done by agreement, but only if the agreement is a Libya-style agreement,” he says, whereby those responsible “go in, blow up the facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision with American execution. That is good,” says Netanyahu.

He says that this goal can be achieved diplomatically, but only if it is similar to the 2003 nuclear disarmament of Libya, during which US forces destroyed or shipped out the components of the country’s nuclear program. “We go in, blow up the facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision and American execution — that is good,” says Netanyahu.

“A second possibility is that this does not happen” and Iran “simply drags out talks. And then the option is military. Everyone understands this,” he says, adding that he and Trump discussed that eventuality at length.

On tariffs, Netanyahu says he is committed to reducing the trade deficit with the US to zero.

“This is the least we can do for the United States and its president, who do so much for us,” says Netanyahu.

Turning to Syria, Netanyahu says that Turkey wants to establish military bases there, and “this is a danger to Israel.”

“We oppose this, we are working against this. I told President Trump, who is my friend, also a friend of Erdogan: ‘If we need your help – we will talk to you about it.'”

Trump praised Erdogan at length during their Oval Office meeting yesterday.

Netanyahu’s stresses that Israel remains committed to eliminating Hamas, and bringing home all the hostages.

“The president looked at me and said to the reporters there: ‘This man is working all the time to free the hostages,” says Netanyahu, referring to Monday’s statements in the Oval Office. “I hope that with this, he has shattered the lie that is spread all the time in the news that I am not working for them, that I do not care.”

“It was a very good visit, “he insists, “a very warm visit, and there are other things you’ll hear about later.”