Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today issued a sharply worded condemnation of the West’s decision to continue nuclear talks with Iran, in light of the latest threat made by Iran against Israel.

The Times of Israel reported:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday excoriated world powers over their dogged pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran, pointing to recent statements by officials in Tehran — notably their calls to eliminate Israel — as evidence of the Islamic Republic’s unwillingness to compromise on its nuclear ambitions and campaign of “terror, subjugation and conquest.”

In tones of moral outrage, he issued a brief, infuriated statement to camera, protesting that the talks were continuing in Lausanne even as Iran reiterated its insistent goal of destroying the Jewish state.

Netanyau’s remarks, which are embedded in the video below, read:

Yesterday an Iranian general brazenly declared, and I quote: “Israel’s destruction is non-negotiable”, but evidently giving Iran’s murderous regime a clear path to the bomb is negotiable. This is unconscionable.

I agree with those who have said that Iran’s claim that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes doesn’t square with Iran’s insistence on keeping underground nuclear facilities, advanced centrifuges and a heavy water reactor. Nor does it square with Iran’s insistence on developing ICBMs and its refusal to come clean with the IAEA on its past weaponization efforts.

At the same time, Iran is accelerating its campaign of terror, subjugation and conquest throughout the region, most recently in Yemen.

The concessions offered to Iran in Lausanne would ensure a bad deal that would endanger Israel, the Middle East and the peace of the world.

Now is the time for the international community to insist on a better deal. A better deal would significantly roll back Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. A better deal would link the eventual lifting of the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program to a change in Iran’s behavior. Iran must stop its aggression in the region, stop its terrorism throughout the world and stop its threats to annihilate Israel.

That should be non-negotiable and that’s the deal that the world powers must insist upon.

Netanyahu was referring to remarks made by Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the commander of Iran’s Basij militia. Naqdi has a long history of threatening Israel.

Netanyahu’s remarks were buttressed by an interview given by former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. (ret) Yair Naveh, who told Israel Radio today that Israel, being “well-versed in the region,” is aware of Iran’s statements on its destruction and cannot accept American accommodation to them.

There are conflicting accounts of the status of negotiations in Lausanne, with Iranian and Russian sources sounding optimistic about the possibility of a deal and American sources sounding skeptical. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying that an “agreement in principle… will be put on paper in the coming hours or perhaps within one day.” However, an American official said that “all issues have not been agreed.”

[Photo: IsraeliPM / YouTube ]