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PM,
who is scheduled to meet British counterpart Thursday, says Iranian
ayatollah made clear that the US remains the Great Satan, and that
Tehran intends to destroy Israel.
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Netanyahu: Khamenei’s anti-Israel, anti-US tirade should burst any illusions about nuclear deal
Khamenei, in twitter posts on his account earlier in the day, wrote that “God willing, there will be nothing of the Zionist regime by the next 25 years,” and that until the time of Israel’s disappearance, there will be “no moment of serenity for Zionists.”
Khamenei was also quoted on his website as saying that Iran negotiated with US for “specific reasons.”
The Americans “behaved well in the talks,” he said, “but we didn’t and we won't allow negotiation with the AMericans on other issues.”
Netanyahu, who is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday, during which Iran is expected to be a central issue, said Khamenei made clear that the US remains the Great Satan, and that Iran intends to destroy Israel.
“This will not happen,” he said. “Israel is a strong country and it will become even stronger.”
Nevertheless, Netanyahu said, the conclusion to be drawn from the “remarks of the tyrant in Tehran is that all responsible countries must cooperate in order to stop Iran's terrorism and aggression which, to my regret, will only increase as a result of the agreement.”
Before flying to London to meet with Cameron, Netanyahu said that the message he is presently conveying to European leaders is that Europe should be supporting Israel, not pressuring or condemning it.
Netanyahu said that the focus of his talks with Cameron will be that Israel is “the only true protection Europe has in the Middle East against surging extremist Islam. We are prepared to act together with Europe in Africa and other places to fight extremist Islam but this requires a change of approach. This change will take time but we will implement it.”
Netanyahu’s arrival in London was greeted by some 300 pro-Palestinian protesters staging a noisy protest in central London. Minor scuffles with police broke out as they surged into the main road outside the Downing Street residence of Cameron.
"We're here because we feel that Netanyahu should pay for his war crimes," said 21-year-old student Marion Tehami. "We're here to protest and let him know that he's not welcome in our country."
The demonstrators also squared off against a group of about 50 pro-Israel demonstrators who were waving the Israeli flag and chanting in a cordoned off area nearby.
Meanwhile, diplomatic officials dismissed opposition charges that Netanyahu’s adamant opposition to the Iranian deal would destroy relations with the US, citing comments made Wednesday in Washington by Democratic presidential challenger Hillary Clinton saying that -- if elected -- she would invite Netanyahu to the White House during the first month.
In that speech Brookings Institution, Clinton backed the Iran deal, but place a huge emphasis on ensuring Israel’s security.
The diplomatic officials in Jerusalem said that “even those who support the agreement [such as Clinton], emphasized the importance of deepening the ties with Israel, and to strengthen them in light of the agreement.”
Netanyahu is widely expected to meet US President Barack Obama sometime later this year, either during his trip to the UN General Assembly in September, or at a possible trip to the annual conference of the Jewish federations of North America meeting in Washington in early November.
Despite speculation that the two leaders will meet during one of those visits, however, no meeting has yet been set up. They last met a year ago when Netanyahu travelled to the US for the UN General Assembly meeting.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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