VIDEOS: Israel’s Netanyahu Visits France’s Macron, Disagreement On Iran Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron held a joint news conference Tuesday, yet stuck to their opposing views on Iran and the 2015 deal that curbed its nuclear program.

Talking to reporters in Paris after meeting the French leader at the Elysee Palace, Netanyahu said his main focus now was how to push Iranian forces out of Syria.

Netanyahu also called Tehran having nuclear weapons “the greatest threat to the world.”

“The nuclear archive that we uncovered recently proves that Iran lied to the world about its nuclear weapons program. And I believe now is the time to apply maximum pressure on Iran, make sure that their nuclear program doesn’t go anywhere,” he said.

Macron said France will continue to work with the existing deal, which it considers the best way to control Iran’s nuclear activity. The French president said he doesn’t see how exiting the nuclear deal would help improve regional stability.

How can one “think that a total absence of controls and commitments is better than the 2015 framework?” he asked.

Netanyahu was a staunch opponent of the deal, and welcomed the Trump administration’s decision last month to withdraw from it. Germany, Britain, France, Russia and China, which also signed the Iran nuclear agreement along with the United States, have said they want to preserve it.

Iran informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Tuesday that it will increase its nuclear enrichment capacity within the limits set by the 2015 agreement.

Macron on Tuesday also raised the issue of the Palestinian territories, expressing his “condemnation of any form of violence toward civilians and in particular, these past few weeks in Gaza.”

Both leaders then headed to the nearby Grand Palais to inaugurate an exhibit on Israeli innovations, as part of a series of events commemorating the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding.

Mr. Netanyahu and his wife Sara also met with leaders of the French Jewish community, where he delivered the following remarks: “I am pleased to see all of you. This is a happy moment, 72 years of ties between Israel and France. These ties were critical in the first years of the state when our existence was not self-evident. It is never self-evident but always borders on the miraculous. We must act to ensure the miracle and France’s assistance in the first years of a young Israel – in terms of weapons, planes and additional cooperation – will be forever etched in the chronicles of the nation. Shimon Peres spoke very often with me about those years and it was a great honor for both him and France.

PM Netanyahu meets with leaders of the French Jewish community

“This link is also a deep cultural link. And it is also a human link, thanks to the glorious Jewish community here, which has contributed greatly to both France and Israel. I am very moved by the fact that we have 180,000 immigrants from France. We are doing everything, not enough, to allow them, first of all, to reduce this awful bureaucracy, about driver’s licenses and professional certificates. We have already done this for doctors and afterwards with pharmacists, and now we are working with nurses. But it must be in all professional fields that are recognized in France; they need to be recognized in Israel. There is no logic. This is not a question. It is a policy of fighting excessive bureaucracy and legalism. We are doing this step by step out of genuine love and admiration.

“But, beyond this, there is also a different phenomenon that is disturbing to us, and this is anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism in Europe in general and France in particular, these attacks, have ancient roots even though their expressions are new. Against this there needs to be one thing: Fight it. Fight, fight and fight. This is the policy, not just of this government and of this president, but also of previous presidents and governments and his is important. The main thing that must be understood is that it never ends with the Jews. Jew-hatred always spreads to a greater problem; therefore, it is possible to recruit others, for both moral reasons and the future of society. I know that this will come up in my talks today [with President Macron].”

Netanyahu also released a Hebrew message to the media in which he said, “The day before yesterday Ayatollah Khamenei, the ruler of Iran, declared his intention to destroy the State of Israel.

The day before yesterday Ayatollah Khamenei, the ruler of Iran, declared his intention to destroy the State of Israel. Yesterday he explained how he would do this – with the unrestricted enrichment of uranium in order to produce an arsenal of nuclear bombs.

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) June 5, 2018