Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the late senator Lindsey Graham urged him to strike Iran.
“He came to me and said, Bibi, you have to do it,” Netanyahu tells NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “You have to knock out this nuclear weapons program before they knock us out.”
Netanyahu does not indicate when the conversation took place.
He says that US President Donald Trump “wants to exhaust the possibility of achieving an agreement, especially on the nuclear issue, through negotiations.”
“But he is obviously not shy of using force when the Iranians break every commitment they make, usually a few hours or a few minutes after they make it,” he continues. “We should let the president have his opportunity.”
Netanyahu adds that Israel is “keenly grateful for the fact that America and Israel joined forces to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them.”
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