Netanyahu: World powers must demand Iran change 'genocidal' anti ...

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday urged the United States and other world powers to demand that Iran change what he called its "genocidal" anti-Israel policy as part of negotiations with Tehran on a final nuclear deal.

Cautioning the international community to "beware" of Iran's intentions, Netanyahu underscored his deep skepticism over an interim deal reached with Iran last month in Geneva and insisted that any long-term accord must bring about the "termination of Iran's military nuclear capability."

Netanyahu, speaking via satellite link from Jerusalem, warned a foreign policy forum in Washington: "The jury is still out. Iran is perilously close to crossing the nuclear threshold."

U.S. President Barack Obama, addressed the same forum on Saturday and defended diplomacy with Iran but sought to reassure Israelis with a pledge to step up sanctions or prepare for a potential military strike if Tehran fails to abide by the pact.

Netanyahu, who had denounced the November 24 six-month interim deal as a "historic mistake," avoided direct criticism of Obama's engagement with Iran - just as he did during a visit to Israel by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry last week.

But the hawkish Israeli prime minister added a new twist to his pressure campaign, aimed at ensuring that world powers seek maximum concessions from Iran in the further negotiations.

"This is a regime committed to our destruction and I believe there must be an unequivocal demand alongside the negotiations in Geneva for a change in Iran policy," Netanyahu told a largely pro-Israel audience. "This must be part and parcel of the negotiations."

Netanyahu accused Iran of supplying thousands of rockets to anti-Israel Islamist groups he called Tehran's "terrorist proxies," including Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. He also cited a recent comment by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling Israel the "rabid dog" of the Middle East.

"What is required is not just a shift in the minutiae of Iran's capability...to produce nuclear weapons, but also a demand to change its genocidal policy," Netanyahu said. However, he did not specify how his proposal would work.

Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, has steered clear of the Holocaust-denial rhetoric of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in reaching out to the West. Rouhani has denied that Iran seeks a nuclear bomb, despite Israeli and Western suspicions to the contrary.

STRAINED RELATIONS

Relations between Israel and the United States, traditionally the closest of allies, have been strained by the preliminary agreement, which was designed to halt advances in Iran's nuclear program and buy time for further negotiations.

Speaking at the Brookings Institution's annual Saban Forum on the Middle East, Netanyahu insisted that the U.S.-Israeli relationship is an "indispensable alliance," but he also made clear that differences with Obama remain over Iran.

He said a diplomatic solution was preferable but that a credible military threat and tough sanctions were necessary for diplomacy to succeed.

Netanyahu said steps must be taken to prevent further erosion of existing sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy and suggested that imposing further sanctions during the talks might lead to a "better deal."

There is concern within the Obama administration that Netanyahu's criticism of the Geneva deal could add impetus to calls by pro-Israel U.S. lawmakers for new sanctions.

U.S. officials have appealed to Congress not to push for new punitive measures during negotiations, saying it could alienate both Iran and other countries involved in the talks by making Washington appear to be acting in bad faith.

Still, Israel's opposition to the deal has raised speculation that it might carry out long-threatened unilateral strikes against Iran.

In his remarks, Netanyahu reiterated his vow that Israel must have the ability to "defend itself by itself," but he issued no direct threats.

While Israel is widely assumed to have the region's only nuclear arsenal, many independent analysts believe it lacks the conventional clout to cause lasting damage to Iran's facilities. The Israelis are also unlikely to go it alone as their most important foreign partner is engaged in diplomacy.

Using part of his speech to review Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, Netanyahu did not echo the hopeful outlook that Obama and Kerry painted a day earlier.

He put the onus on Palestinians to explicitly accept Israel as a Jewish state, which they have refused to do. Palestinians say U.S.-brokered talks, which began in July after a nearly three-year hiatus, have been hampered by Israeli settlement building on occupied West Bank land they want for a state.

Netanyahu also suggested that chances of Middle East peace were intertwined with the Iranian nuclear issue.

"A nuclear-armed Iran would give even greater backing to the radical and terrorist elements in the region. It would undermine the chances of arriving at a negotiated peace... It would undermine those peace agreements that we have already reached (with Egypt and Jordan)," he said.

(Editing by Christopher Wilson)

FILED UNDER: World Israel

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