Netanyahu: World has no right to give Israel a 'red light'

Netanyahu charges that those unwilling to set red lines on Iran should not stop Israeli action; former IDF chief Ashkenazi says strong US ties a "security necessity"; MK Danon calls Clinton's Iran stance a "slap in the face."

(JPost) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that the world has "no moral right" to put a "red light" in front of Israel if it refuses to set a "red line" for Iran.

Speaking ahead of a government to government meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Metodiev Borisov in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said, "Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines in front of Iran, don't have a moral right to put a red light in front of Israel. They must understand that there is a red line so they stop."

"So far we can say with certainty that diplomacy and sanctions have not worked," Netanyahu continued. "The sanctions have hurt the Iranian economy, but have not stopped the Iranian nuclear program. That is a fact."

The comments came in response to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's comments that the United States will not set a deadline for Iran, and that negotiations remain "by far" the best option for stopping its nuclear program.

“We’re watching very carefully about what they do, because it’s always been more about their actions than their words,” Clinton said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio.

Netanyahu reiterated his position that diplomacy and sanctions have not yielded concrete results.

"The fact is that every day that passes, Iran gets closer and closer to nuclear bombs," he said. "If Iran knows that there are no red lines, if Iran knows that there are no deadlines, what will it do? Exactly what it is doing. It is continuing without interference toward nuclear capability and nuclear bombs."

"The world tells Israel 'Wait, there is still time.' And I say 'Wait for what? Wait until when?'" the prime minister said.

In an apparent reference to the public spat between the United States and Israel, former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi told the Calcalist conference on Tuesday that preserving strong ties with the United States is an Israeli security necessity.

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