Calling Iran the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in the world, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today warned the US against a potential deal with Iran and insisted he had a moral obligation to speak up about its dangers as there is still time to avert them.
"The purpose of my address to Congress tomorrow is to speak up about a potential deal with Iran that could threaten the survival of Israel. Iran is the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in the world," the Israeli Prime Minister said as he displayed a map reflecting the alleged terrorists attacks in various parts of the world that had alleged links to Iran.
"Look at that graph. Look at that map. You see on the wall, it shows Iran training, arming, dispatching terrorists on five continents. Iran envelopes the entire world with its tentacles of terror," Netanyahu said this in his address to a Washington audience on the eve of his address to the joint session of the Congress.
"This is what Iran is doing now without nuclear weapons. Imagine what Iran would do with nuclear weapons," he said.
Netanyahu is due to address Congress to lobby against ongoing US efforts to reach a deal with Iran to curtail its nuclear programme.
His visit to Washington has been criticised as a breach of diplomatic protocol because he was not invited by President Barack Obama and his speech will oppose White House foreign policy.
"This same Iran vows to annihilate Israel. If it develops nuclear weapons, it would have the means to achieve that goal. We must not let that happen. As prime minister of Israel, I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these dangers while there's still time to avert them," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu denied that his speech to the US Congress was a slight to President Obama and insisted the US-Israeli alliance remains strong.
"You are here to tell the world that reports of the demise of the US relationship is not only premature, but it is wrong," the Israeli leader told delegates to a pro-Israeli conference in Washington.
"My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the office that he holds. I have great respect for both," he said.
"For 2000 years, my people, the Jewish people, were stateless, defenseless, voiceless. We were utterly powerless against our enemies who swore to destroy us. We suffered relentless persecution and horrific attacks. We could never speak on our own behalf, and we could not defend ourselves. Well, no more, no more," he said amidst applause.
"The days when the Jewish people are passive in the face of threats to annihilate us, those days are over. Today in our sovereign state of Israel, we defend ourselves. Being able to defend ourselves, we ally with others, most importantly, the United States of America, to defend our common civilization against common threats," he asserted.
"Today, we are no longer silent; today, we have a voice. And tomorrow, as prime minister of the one and only Jewish state, I plan to use that voice. I plan to speak about an Iranian regime that is threatening to destroy Israel," Netanyahu said.
Israel fears that Obama's Iran diplomacy, with an end-of-March deadline for a framework accord, will allow Iran to develop atomic weapons, something the country denies seeking.
