‘War’ gaffe rattles Mideast conference
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked controversy with a remark about ‘‘war against Iran’’ as a major conference on the Middle East began in the Polish capital of Warsaw.
‘‘What is important about this meeting – and this meeting is not in secret, because there are many of those – is that this is an open meeting with representatives of leading Arab countries, that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of war with Iran,’’ Netanyahu said in a video message, a Tweet and a statement from his office yesterday.
Retweeting him, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif retorted: ‘‘We’ve always known Netanyahu’s illusions. Now, the world – and those attending #WarsawCircus – know, too.’’
The video in which Netanyahu made the comment has since been deleted from Twitter, and his office reissued the statement, replacing the word ‘‘war’’ with ‘‘combating’’.
Although Netanyahu used the Hebrew word ‘‘milchama’’ or ‘‘war’’ in his comments, his office later changed its official translation.
Netanyahu is one of the participants in the conference, which has been organised by the United States and Poland to discuss peace and security in the Middle East. It has been plagued by poor attendance and criticism that it has an anti-Iran agenda.
The US has routinely accused Tehran of engaging in a policy of destabilisation in the Middle East and of financing terrorism. US President Donald Trump also unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal last year and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
Netanyahu and US Vice-President Mike Pence are attending, along with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterparts from numerous Arab nations. But France and Germany are not sending Cabinet-ranked officials, and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is staying away.
Russia and China aren’t participating, and the Palestinians, who have called for the meeting to be boycotted, also will be absent. Iran, which is this week celebrating the 40th anniversary of its Islamic Revolution, denounced the meeting as a ‘‘circus’’ aimed at ‘‘demonising’’ it.
In a bid to encourage better participation, Pompeo and others sought to broaden what was initially advertised as an Iran-centric meeting to include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the fight against Islamic State, and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
The Trump administration has repeatedly denied allegations that it is seeking regime change in Iran. And yet, mixed messages continue to come from Washington.
Earlier this week, Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton released a short video on the anniversary of the Iranian revolution in which he called Iran ‘‘the central banker of international terrorism’’ and accused it of pursuing nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver them.
The video ended with a not-so-veiled threat to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: ‘‘I don’t think you’ll have many more anniversaries to enjoy.’’ – DPA, AP