Israel’s prime minister to Iran: Don’t test his country’s resolve

MUNICH — The nuclear deal with Iran has emboldened Tehran to become increasingly aggressive in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, warning that Iran should “not test Israel’s resolve” as he showed off what he said was part of a downed Iranian drone.

Netanyahu said of Iran that if the U.S. decides to scrap the 2015 nuclear deal, which he has long opposed, “I think they’ll do nothing.”

But Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, appearing two hours later at the same Munich Security Conference, fired back that Netanyahu’s comment was “delusional thinking.”

“I can assure that if Iran’s interests are not secured, Iran will respond, will respond seriously. And I believe it would be a response that means people would be sorry for taking the erroneous action they did,” he said.

President Donald Trump has expressed deep skepticism about the Iran nuclear deal that lifted sanctions against the country. He extended sanctions waivers in January but said he would not do so again when they come up for renewal in May unless his concerns are addressed.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry, a main architect of the nuclear deal, said it was “absolutely critical” to ensure it survives.

“We know what the world looks like without the Iran nuclear agreement,” he said Sunday at the same conference. “It’s not a better place.”

Kerry dismissed Netanyahu’s contention that Iran would be on its way to having a nuclear arsenal in 10 years, saying “that’s fundamentally not accurate.”