At his televised weekly cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) claim that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would be illegal.
Following two days of talks with Tehran, IAEA Director General Raphael Grossi issued a statement asserting that “any military attack on nuclear facilities is outlawed.”
“International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi just said in Tehran that an Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities is against the law,” Netanyahu stated on Sunday. “Against which law? Is Iran, which openly calls for our destruction, permitted to defend the destructive weapons that would slaughter us?”
“Are we permitted to defend ourselves?” the Israeli Leader asked. “It is clear that we are, and it is clear that we will do so. And we will do so in discussions or actions around the clock, which I will not detail here, of course.”
Netanyahu went on to liken the current situation with Iran to the Biblical account of Esther and the Persian empire as the Jewish holiday of Purim takes place Monday through Tuesday.
“2,500 years ago an enemy arose in Persia who sought to destroy the Jews. They did not succeed then, neither will they succeed today,” the Prime Minister stressed.
The situation has grown more dire as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl last week warned that Iran could have enough material for a nuclear bomb within “12 days.”