Netanyahu: IDF the ‘Only Army Ready to Fight Iran’

TEL AVIV – The only army ready to fight Iran is the IDF, Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday. 

“At the moment, the only army in the world to fight Iran is the Israeli army,” Netanyanu told members of the National Security College at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The prime minister also slammed the 2015 Obama-led nuclear accord, saying the deal’s only silver lining was the thawing of relations between Israel and the Arab states.

“The only thing that the terrible nuclear agreement gave is a strong and sweeping rapprochement with major Arab countries,” Netanyahu said. “Iran says simply: ‘We will destroy you and destroy you first by nuclear weapons.'”

“I had to fight alone to block the nuclear agreement,” Netanyahu said. “I had to fight against all the powers and against the president of the United States — I went to the American Congress.”

“I thought that this agreement would not only pave the way for a nuclear arsenal, but would also give them hundreds of billions of dollars that they would not invest in Iran, but would invest in their empire. Today you can judge whether we were right or not. So first of all, you have to stop it,” the prime minister said.

Netanyahu’s remarks come as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that he would resume talks with the U.S. if sanctions are lifted.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also approved a visa for top nuclear negotiator and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to attend a UN meeting in New York this week.

Netanyahu last week said that “Iran has been threatening the destruction of Israel” and warned that Israel’s fighter planes “can reach anywhere in the Middle East, including Iran.”