MUNICH – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday traded barbs and threats, speakingabout Iran nuclear deal and Tehran’s role in the settlement of conflicts inthe Middle East, during the final day of the 54th Munich SecurityConference (MSC) in Germany.
Apart from Netanyahu and Zarif, multiple politicians from various countriesspoke on day three of the MSC, including Lebanese Defense Minister YaacoubSarraf, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir, and UN Special Envoy for SyriaStaffan de Mistura.
The politicians discussed such major regional security issues as the Syriansettlement, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the situation in thePersian Gulf.
Netanyahu said on the final day of the MSC that he was aware of Iran’salleged plans to unite Tehran and Syria’s Tartus to create a single state.
“Israel will continue to prevent Iran from establishing a permanentmilitary presence in Syria. Israel will continue to act to prevent Iranfrom establishing another terror base,” the Israeli prime minister said.
Netanyahu’s speech culminated with the demonstration of alleged partof Iran’s drone downed by the Iranian army last Saturday. The Israeli PrimeMinister addressed the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif whiledemonstrating the drone part.
“Mr. Zarif, do you recognize this? You should. It’s yours… Don’t testIsrael’s resolve,” Netanyahu said.
During his speech at the MSC, Netanyahu criticized the Joint ComprehensivePlan of Action (JCPOA), commonly referred to as Iran nuclear deal. Themultilateral agreement should be scrapped if Tehran continues its nuclearenrichment research, Netanyahu said.
“Such a radical regime would be unrecognizable in its aggression once ithas atomic bombs and the means to deliver them. So you have to fix it.Whether you can do it within the deal, fine, if you can’t, you should scrapit,” the Israeli prime minister pointed.The Israeli official also called for tough sanctions against Iranlink>topreventTehran from developing its nuclear program which, according to Netanyahu,is not limited to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Jubeir supported Israel’s stance on Iran nuclear deal, saying that thechecks of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which ismonitoring the JCPOA implementation, are not enough, as they should also beheld at Iran’s military sites, which is not stipulated by the deal.
The JCPOA does not contain Iran’s aggressive behavior, Jubeir pointed out.
Netanyahu, in his turn, noted that the Iranian alleged aggressioncontributed to the rapprochement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
John Kerry, the former US state secretary, who has participated in personin the talks on the JCPOA, has however spoken in support of the dealduring the MSC. The scrapping of the agreement might provoke a militaryconflict in the region, Kerry suggested.
Kerry also expressed disagreement with Israel’s claims that Iran wouldpossess nuclear weapons in 10 years. The US ex-state secretary, however,noted that the JCPOA failed to cover a number of issues, such as respectfor human rights in Iran.
*Iran Calls for Increased Trust in Persian Gulf*
Zarif, who has been addressing the MSC several hours after Netanyahu,called for a new security architecture in the Persian Gulf, which impliesthat there should be “a strong region, rather than a strong man in theregion.”
“We want a strong region. We do not want to be the hegemon in the region,as we believe that the era of hegemony has long passed regionally as wellas globally,” the official said.