At a memorial service marking 25 years since the bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Islamic Republic is responsible for more than 80 percent of the security threats facing Israel, The Jerusalem Post reported Monday.
Netanyahu pointed out that Iran orchestrated the 1992 attack in Argentina, which left 29 people dead — including Israeli diplomats — and wounded 250 more. “Iran initiated and planned it, and Hezbollah, which does what it [Iran] says, carried it out,” he observed.
Netanyahu also cited the Iran-backed bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, which killed at least 85 people and injured a hundred more, as a sign of Iran’s global reach. “Iran is the greatest generator of terrorism in the world,” the prime minister stressed, noting the importance of thwarting the nuclear ambitions of a regime that continues to “threaten Israel with destruction.”
“Since the terror attack in Argentina, Israel has grown much stronger,” Netanyahu added. “We will forcefully oppose the arming of Hezbollah and dangerous weapons. Our red lines are thick and clear and we do not hesitate to act in order to enforce them.” Netanyahu was likely referring to recent air strikes conducted in Syria against Hezbollah targets, which have been attributed to Israel.
“One of our defense officials estimates that more than 80 percent of our security problems emanate from Iran,” the prime minister added.
Beyond its extensive support of Hezbollah, Iran has given funds, intelligence, and weapons to Palestinian terrorist groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and al-Sabirin. Last month, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described Israel as a “cancerous tumor” and called for a “holy intifada” to destroy the Jewish state.
During his cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said that he will raise Israel’s concerns over Iran’s presence in Syria while visiting Moscow later this week:
On Thursday I will meet with President Putin in Moscow. Syria and the effort to formulate an agreement there will be at the center of our conversation. In the context of this agreement, or without it, Iran is trying to establish itself permanently in Syria, with a military presence on the ground and at sea, and also a gradual attempt to open a front against us on the Golan Heights. I will express to President Putin Israel’s sharp and vigorous opposition to this possibility. I hope we will be able to reach certain understandings in order to reduce possible friction between our forces and theirs, as we have successfully done up until now.
[Photo: IsraeliPM / YouTube ]