Following the presidential elections in Iran, which led to the election of Hasan Rowhani, viewed as a moderate.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning, 8 Tammuz 5773 made the following remarks to the media at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.

“Regarding the results of the elections in Iran let us not delude ourselves. The international community must not become caught up in wishes and be tempted to relax the pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear program. It must be remembered that the Iranian ruler, at the outset, disqualified candidates who did not fit his extremist outlook and from among those whose candidacies he allowed was elected the candidate who was seen as less identified with the regime, who still defines the State of Israel as ‘the great Zionist Satan’.

“In any case, the ruler of Iran is the Supreme Leader, not the president, and it is he who determines nuclear policy. The more the pressure on Iran increases, the greater is the chance of stopping the Iranian nuclear program, which remains the greatest threat to world peace. Fifteen years ago, the election of another president, also considered a moderate by the West, led to no change in these aggressive policies. Over the last twenty years, the only thing that has led to a temporary freeze in the Iranian nuclear program was Iran’s concern over aggressive policy against it in 2003. Iran will be judged by its actions. If it continues to insist on developing its nuclear program, the answer needs to be very clear – stopping the nuclear program by any means.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)