Netanyahu says better to face Iran sooner rather than later

Israel will do what’s needed to block Iranian aggression, sooner rather than later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

“Nations that didn’t act in time against murderous aggression against them paid a much higher price later on,” said Netanyahu, who often invokes European powers’ 1938 agreement to let Nazi Germany annex portions of Czechoslovakia. “We don’t seek escalation, but are prepared for any scenario.”

Frictions between Israel and Iran have escalated in the runup to President Donald Trump’s decision this month whether to quit the Iran nuclear deal, and Netanyahu’s comments reinforced concerns that the two Middle East powers might clash directly in Syria, Iran’s client. Other Israeli officials Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on March 5 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C.

have suggested that a withdrawal from the accord and renewed U.S. sanctions could either bring Iran back to the negotiating table with a weaker hand, or even lead to regime change.

Housing Minister Yoav Gallant, a security cabinet member and retired general, said that if the U.S. ratchets up pressure, Iran will eventually relent.

“The U.S. is still the largest economy in the world, and when the Americans decide that those who do business with Iran can’t do business with America, countries will have to give up on doing business with Iran,” Gallant said in an interview. “There need to be economic sanctions and eventually there will be new negotiations, sooner or later.”

Israel considers Iran to be its most dangerous foe, and has repeatedly vowed to block it from building a nuclear bomb or establishing a permanent presence in Syria, where it is helping to prop up government forces. Last month, the Israeli military was accused of attacking Iranian targets in Syria twice, raising the prospect of fighting between their forces there

As European signatories scramble to try to salvage the nuclear agreement, Israel has been urging Trump to jettison it unless it can be amended.

At a widely publicized news conference last week, Netanyahu said Israel spirited half a ton of documents out of Iran proving it lied about the nature of its nuclear program, which Tehran claims is peaceful.