PM Netanyahu addresses AIPAC Conference (22 Mar 2010):
Today, an unprecedented threat to humanity looms large. A radical Iranian regime armed with nuclear weapons could bring an end to the era of nuclear peace the world has enjoyed for the last 65 years. Such a regime could provide nuclear weapons to terrorists and might even be tempted to use them. Our world would never be the same. Iran's brazen bid to develop nuclear weapons is first and foremost a threat to Israel, but it is also a grave threat to the region and to the world.
Israel expects the international community to act swiftly and decisively to thwart this danger. But we will always reserve the right to self-defense.
FM Liberman in Spiegel interview (21 Mar 2010):
The biggest problem is the aggressive influence of Iran. It would be enough to have tough sanctions from the West like the EU and the US and also Japan, Australia and Canada. That would suffocate the Iranian nuclear program. Germany is playing a very positive role. During my last visit, I felt for the first time that the German government understands that tough sanctions are necessary. But I am afraid that disagreements and a lack of political will within the international community could prevent real sanctions.
I don't think that Israel should take responsibility for this issue. But we are not taking any options of the table.
The biggest danger is the indecisiveness of the international community. Iran is threatening the whole world. It is not coincidental that they do not celebrate an "Independence Day," but the "Day of the Islamic Revolution." Revolutionaries always try to export their revolution, that was the case with the Bolsheviks and also with Che Guevara. Therefore, we see Iranian activities in the whole world: in Africa, in South America and of course in the Middle East: with Hamas, Hizbullah or Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq. They are all proxies of Iran.
President Peres at meeting with UN Sec-Gen Ban Ki-moon (20 Mar 2010):
"Iran is continuing to play a negative role in the Middle East, supplying arms, encouraging terror, and threatening the destruction of Israel, which is against the United Nations Charter - one member cannot threaten the existence of another member. [In response to such acts] we expect a very clear position by the Security Council.
The UN must take a more serious and rigid approach to the Iranian threat. On the one hand Iran threatens another state with destruction, and on the other hand it receives red carpet treatment at the UN. Why don't you enforce the rules of the UN? Why do you continue to let Ahmadinejad enjoy being a member of the UN when his actions violate your very charter? This must stop. You must enforce the UN Charter and human rights. All of us must take Ahmadinejad's speeches seriously. We are following his behavior: his smuggling of arms, his financing and support of Hamas and Hizbullah, his enrichment of uranium, and his development of long-range missiles capable of hitting any location."
Deputy FM Ayalon (20 Mar 2010):
"Iran poses a threat to the entire world, including the Arab states. I believe that multilayered economic sanctions against Iran will be imposed soon by the UN Security Council that will grant individual states the legitimacy to impose stricter sanctions of their own. The fact that the United States tried for a year to conduct a dialogue with Iran gives those states which have not supported sanctions against Iran in the past the legitimacy to change their position and to vote in favor of sanctions."
FM Liberman after meeting with EU High Rep Ashton (17 Mar 2010):
With regard to the Iranian issue, I think that it's a crucial time. We cannot accept the Iranian policy of dragging out the time, of buying time, of wasting time. It is really the time for tough decisions in the Security Council and the EU. It is now the time for a new Churchill policy, not the time for a Chamberlain policy, and that's our expectation.
PM Netanyahu at Knesset session in honor of President of Brazil (15 Mar 2010):
Mr. President, I appeal to you in the hope that Brazil will join the ever-growing international front opposed to a nuclear-armed Iran.
I believe that the Iranian regime represents diametrically-opposed values to those represented by the Brazilian culture and people. They are motivated by tyranny and cruelty. You represent openness and tolerance. They oppress women and minorities. You advocate freedom and equality. They worship death. You celebrate life. The Iranian regime denies the Holocaust, calls for the destruction of Israel, develops nuclear weapons and supports terrorist organizations.
Today, Iran is the greatest threat to stability and peace in the Middle East. I believe that Brazil's unique position enables it to take part in a wider and stronger coalition consisting of many countries that aim to restrain the serious danger that Iran's nuclear armament presents to regional and world peace.
President Peres at meeting with Brazilian President Da Silva (15 Mar 2010):
"Iran is not Israel's enemy. Our enemy is the extremist, fanatical leadership of Ahmadinejad who speaks openly about the eradication of Israel. I stress that we cannot accept threats to annihilate us. It produces a tough reaction from a people who already suffered the horrors of the holocaust. It is clear to us, beyond any doubt, that Iran is building nuclear weapons for mass extermination and not for peaceful energy needs. Likewise, it continues to support and arm terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hizbullah; the former of which undermines peace with the Palestinians and the latter of which divides Lebanon."
President Peres argued that the effective way of combating an extremist leader like Ahmadinejad is through moral sanctions. These will isolate him and the rest of the Iranian leadership by protesting their politics, their acts of immorality, their support of terror, their threats, and their hanging of innocent in the streets. Such moral sanctions must be accompanied by crippling economic sanctions.
PM Netanyahu after meeting with US Vice President Biden (9 Mar 2010):
I think this unbreakable bond [between our countries] will help our two countries meet the two historic challenges that we face today in the Middle East.
The first and foremost among them is the need to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons... I very much appreciate the efforts of President Obama and the American Government to lead the international community to place top sanctions on Iran. The stronger those sanctions are, the more likely will be that the Iranian regime will have to choose between advancing its nuclear program and advancing the future of its own permanence. I think that the international community and the leading countries of the international community have to join the American effort and Israel has been helping out with key countries and will continue to do so.
President Peres after meeting with US Vice President Biden (9 Mar 2010):
I think the tone and extremism of Ahmadinejad against Israel is a cover-up of his own ambition to create hegemony in the Middle East, since he doesn't want to appear as a Shi'ite or a Sunni. He wants to appear as anti-Israel, which gives him an entry to other countries. And that way, everybody is using Israel as an excuse or a cover-up for their real positions...
In the name of religion, Iran is trying to establish a super structure of the Iranians in the Middle East. But at the same time, short of President Mubarak who stood up and some other leaders, they [the Arab leaders] are reluctant to declare their real position because of the conflict between us and the Palestinians...
The United States should lead the Iranian policy - there is nobody else in the world. The United States, with whatever criticism you may have, you have the most serious, the most organized, and the most analytical approach to the Iranians. And we have trust in President Obama...
I believe that the best policy vis-a-vis Iran, and I'm speaking from our perspective, should comprise three major efforts - one, which is major, and that is the moral code. I think moral sanctions are not less important than economic sanctions. A person like Ahmadinejad who calls openly to destroy the State of Israel cannot be a full member of the United Nations. A man that calls for acts in terror and who hangs people in the streets, not just because of the Israeli conflict - and as Hillary [Clinton] described him as a military dictator. I think he should be placed in his proper definition. He cannot go around almost like a cultural hero...
They [Iran] try to de-legitimize us. We're a democratic country. Nobody is being hanged in Israel. We try to make peace. We give back land. We are in a difficult situation, but still on a moral foundation. So he tries to de-legitimize us or you. We are the Satan; he is the Lord. So I think that must be done in a strong and clear voice.
It will also help the people of Iran to continue their struggle to defend their culture. They are ashamed of him. In my judgment, this should be done strongly, clearly, vocally. Then the economic sanctions, which I don't have to advise.
Maybe I would like to see a third point, and that is to surround Iran with an envelope of self-defense - the Palestinians as well - against their missiles and nuclear trap. And nobody knows exactly what they're going to do. But self-defense will be an additional weight in limiting the danger of Iran...
Address by PM Netanyahu to the Christians United ror Israel Jerusalem Summit (8 Mar 2010):
… No security challenge is more important to our common future than preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. I have said before and I'll say again, that the greatest threat facing mankind is the specter of a militant Islamic regime acquiring nuclear weapons, or the specter of nuclear weapons acquiring a militant Islamic regime. The first is dangerously close to happening in Iran, and the second may or may not happen in Pakistan. I believe that with the right policies both can be averted.
If Iran develops atomic weapons, the world would never be the same. We would witness a cascade of terrorism across the globe as terrorists would operate under an Iranian nuclear umbrella. Look at how much havoc, how much terror they sow now, when there is no such umbrella, and understand what can happen if Iran, their patron, sponsor, supplier and supporter, if that Iran had nuclear weapons. Equally, the region's vital oil supplies could be severely threatened and efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East would collapse as one regime after another would rush to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. Worst of all, if nuclear weapons would be given to terrorists, or to terrorist states, a 65 year-old era of nuclear peace would be endangered for the first time.
Remember that for the tyrants in Tehran, Israel is only the little Satan. In their eyes, America is the Great Satan. America is their ultimate target. Yet for Israel, the threat from Iran could not be clearer. Iran's leaders openly call for Israel's destruction. They brazenly deny the Holocaust and they hope, and they say so just about every other day, they hope to wipe Israel off the map of the Middle East.
We must not allow such a regime to threaten the peace of the world, the peace and security of all humanity. All responsible members of the international community must do everything in their power to stop Iran from developing atomic weapons.
As we speak the United States is leading an international effort to impose sanctions on Iran. We believe those sanctions must have teeth. And to have teeth, they must bite deep into Iran's energy sector. Simply put, they should prevent Iran from importing gasoline and from exporting oil. I believe that such measures might convince the regime to choose between continuing the weapons program and between assuring the regime's future. But there must be tough, biting sanctions.
PM Netanyahu to special Knesset session (3 Mar 2010):
... In the area of security and diplomacy, the international community is moving toward sanctions. We're involved in this process and held important meetings with two pivotal members of the Security Council - meetings that were fully transparent and coordinated with the United States. The first one was in Russia and the second in China. In Russia, where I was joined by Minister Yuli Edelstein and MK Ze'ev Elkin, we met with President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin. It's clear that Russia now understands the full significance of Iran's nuclear program, even if it hasn't been stated publicly and officially. In fact, I'm certain about this.
And the visit of Minister Ya'alon, Bank of Israel Governor Fischer and their colleagues to Beijing was also important, in terms of understanding Iran's military, nuclear program. There's been some progress in this regard and I'd say that the last six weeks have seen a better understanding among the international community - certainly among major countries - with respect to the nature of the program and the dangers it poses. I would even say that this is accepted by almost every country in the world, including the Arab countries of the Middle East.
But there's a difference between understanding and action. There's a gap. And this gap will start to close if the international community, by way of the Security Council, imposes sanctions on Iran now. Our position is that Iranian imports of petroleum products, of gas, have to be restricted because their ability to refine petroleum is extremely limited. Petroleum exports from Iran should also be restricted. I expressed this view in Moscow and it was also made clear in Beijing and in my conversations with world leaders, including Angela Merkel, Silvio Berlusconi, Nicolas Sarkozy, and of course President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
The international community is moving toward lower-level sanctions, which are not unimportant, but may not be enough. The only ones proposing the kind of sanctions we're talking about are the US Congress, and there's a certain tension between the required force of the sanctions and the ability to obtain consensus support in the Security Council. I've talked about the steps we're taking to cooperate with the American and French efforts to win Security Council approval for the package of sanctions. But unless those sanctions have sharp enough teeth, it's doubtful that Iran's program will be stopped.
President Peres at meeting with U.S. Senator John Kerry (1 Mar 2010):
President Peres remarked on the global danger Iran presents, arguing that Iran uses Israel as an excuse to pursue its true goal of Middle Eastern hegemony. "There is a serious need for defensive measures, such as advanced anti-missile systems, to protect Arab states from the Iranian threat. If they are not protected, each of these states will develop its own nuclear capabilities. Such defensive measures should be implemented at the same time as effective economic sanctions."