After meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at Ben Gurion Israeli international airport, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the meeting was “important and comprehensive.”
He adds that he deeply appreciates US President Joe Biden’s and Austin’s commitment to Israel’s security.
“If there is anyone in Tehran who thinks that they can progress toward a nuclear bomb, they are mistaken,” he says.
He says he sees a shift in the US and Western attitude to Iran in recent months to a more aggressive stance that needs to intensify further, saying that this will be at the center of his conversations in Rome and other European capitals.
He also speaks about the ongoing protests around judicial overhaul plans.
“All of our efforts at dialogue have been met with total refusal from the opposition and attempts to bring the country to anarchy,” he says, adding that he won’t let the opposition bring down Israel’s democratically elected government – their true goal, he claims.
“We won’t let anyone disrupt Israel’s democracy and cancel the decision of the majority in Israel, as expressed in the recent elections,” he concludes.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of continuing to lie about efforts to hold dialogue between the government and opposition on its judicial shakeup plans.
“Even on the steps of the plane, on his way to a wasteful and unncessary weekend on the country’s dime, Netanyahu cannot stop lying,” Lapid says in a statement as the prime minister departs for Rome.
“The government did not agree to any dialogue attempt, and it is continuing to push through legislation that will turn us into a messianic, extremist and undemocratic country,” Lapid adds. “The only anarchists in this story are senior ministers in the government who are trying to set the country alight.”
Departing for a weekend in Rome, Netanyahu claimed that all government attempts at dialogue have been “completely rejected by the opposition and its attempts to drag the country into anarchy.”