Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday continued lobbying European leaders to follow in President Trump’s footsteps and quit the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Discussing the threat he believes Tehran poses to his country, Mr. Netanyahu began his three-day European trip on Monday by meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with Tuesday featuring talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
On Wednesday, he gathered in London with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
While Ms. Merkel and Mr. Macron agreed Tehran’s continued efforts to develop ballistic missiles and assert regional influence represents threats, both leaders also publicly disagreed with Mr. Netanyahu regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name of the Iranian nuclear deal.
From Tehran’s perspective, earlier this week officials threatened to withdraw from the agreement and return to accelerated enrichment of uranium.
Tensions also continued mounting with Israel after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei tweeted that it was “a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated.”
Mr. Netanyahu shot back on Twitter: “It is amazing that at the beginning of the 21st century someone talks about destroying Israel,” he wrote, adding that many “very promising contacts with Arab states are developing.”
Since the JCPOA was signed by Iran, the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Russia and China, Mr. Netanyahu has opposed the deal.
Last month when Mr. Trump withdrew, European leaders criticized the move, but Mr. Netanyahu praised it as a “bold decision.”
On Wednesday, Mrs. May, who supports saving some form of the agreement, is expected to tell Mr. Netanyahu that it has helped make the world a safer place by curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
British media also anticipated that she would raise the issue of recent violence in Gaza after Palestinians were killed there last month during protests over Washington moving its U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
• Dan Boylan can be reached at dboylan@washingtontimes.com.
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