Israeli Prime Minister: The time for issuing a statement against Iran has passed

Naftali Bennett called for action against Iran at an Israeli cabinet meeting, citing the Islamic Republic's role in the attack on the Mercer Strait tanker. The Israeli prime minister called on world powers to refrain from continuing negotiations with the government of Ebrahim Raisi.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett focused on Iran-related issues at his cabinet meeting on Sunday, August 8. On the one hand, he addressed Hezbollah's missile attacks in Lebanon and, on the other, he expressed his position on the inauguration of Ebrahim Raisi's government in Iran.

Bennett welcomed the position of the foreign ministers of the G7 countries, as well as the European Union statement on the attack on the Mercer Strait tanker, and called on countries around the world to take action against the Islamic Republic.

The Israeli Prime Minister emphasized that the time for issuing a statement against Iran has passed and the time has come to take action against the Iranian government.

On Friday, August 6, the European Union held Iran responsible for the attack on the Mercer Strait tanker. The foreign ministers of the G7 countries also pointed to evidence and pointed the finger of blame at the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This is while Iran has denied any involvement in the drone attack on the tanker in question and claims that the documents provided are "fake".

Negotiations of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA

At a government meeting on Sunday, Naftali Bennett called on the countries involved in the JCPOA Joint Commission negotiations to end their talks with Ebrahim Raisi's government.

Bennett, referring to Raisi's role in the summer of 2018 massacre and his sanctions by the former US administration for human rights violations, said: "Raisi's election is what I call the last chance for world powers to wake up before sitting down again at the negotiating table to reach a nuclear agreement. This is the last chance for world powers to realize who they are going to make an agreement with."

The Israeli prime minister read a statement in Hebrew and then translated it into English. Sunday's meeting was the first meeting of the new Israeli government to be broadcast live on television.

Source: DW