Netanyahu: Some in Europe Won’t Wake Up Until Iran Nukes Continent

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu contends that various European countries will take the Iranian threat seriously only after Tehran nukes the continent. His comments, posted to social media, came on July 15 after Britain, France and Germany, three of the parties to the 2015 nuclear deal along with Russia, China and the United States, called for renewed dialogue with the Islamic Republic on the fourth anniversary of the pact – from which the US withdrew a little over a year ago. European Union representatives have made clear that Brussels will not impose sanctions on Iran although the latter has breached the agreement by increasing its uranium stockpile and enrichment levels beyond those stipulated in the accord. In a press conference, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Tehran’s actions were not “considered to be significant non-compliance.” In response, Netanyahu posted a video to his Twitter account condemning the EU’s stance, which he compared to London signing the 1938 Munich Agreement with Nazi Germany, which failed to prevent World War II. “The response by the European Union to the Iranian violations reminds me of the European appeasement of the 1930s,” Netanyahu asserted, adding: “Also then there was someone [British prime minister Neville Chamberlain] who buried his head in the sand and didn’t see the approaching danger.” Iran recently revealed that it had exceeded the nuclear deal’s 300-kilogram stockpile limit for 3.67-percent enriched uranium and announced that it would begin enriching to 4.5% purity, hinting broadly that it would next aim for 20%. Experts have warned that the move could shorten the timeframe needed for the mullahs to produce the 90% enriched uranium required for a nuclear bomb. Iran is demanding that the EU devise concrete financial mechanisms to bypass the US sanctions re-imposed in the wake of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear agreement. Otherwise, it is threatening to likewise leave the deal and resume its nuclear activities to pre-2015 levels.