Israeli lawmaker says Iran is an “existential threat”calls for bombing its nuclear facilities by year’s end

Tzachi Hanegbi  a Likud member of the Israeli Knesset says  in the absence of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers  his party will give full backing if government decides to attack Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Iran is an existential threat. We give full backing to this government if the decision is made to strike. We are approaching the crossroads of a decision on the Iranian issue,” the former minister said at a cultural event.

“If there is no agreement between Iran and the world powers, we should attack Iran by the end of 2021,” he said.

“Iran is an existential threat. We give full backing to this government if the decision is made to strike. We are approaching the crossroads of a decision on the Iranian issue,” the former minister said at a cultural event.

“If there is no agreement between Iran and the world powers, we should attack Iran by the end of 2021,” he said.

Hanegbi’s comments came as US President Joe Biden and European leaders expressed their “grave and growing concern” at Iran’s nuclear activities, and reportedly discussed potential plans if Tehran refused to return to the negotiating table.

Iran, which has stalled indirect negotiations with the United States in Vienna regarding a mutual return to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, said last week that it would restart negotiations by the end of November. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan responded that the US was still trying to determine whether Iran was in earnest regarding the negotiations.

After meeting in Rome on Saturday, Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson “agreed that continued Iranian nuclear advances and obstacles to the IAEA’s work will jeopardize the possibility of a return to the JCPOA.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is supposed to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities.

In a joint statement, the leaders said they were determined “to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.”

Agencies