Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Iran again. On Thursday, he said his country would do "everything" to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
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Netanyahu's threat came after a top diplomat in Tehran warned that the country could lift self-imposed restrictions on its nuclear weapons if Western countries impose more sanctions on Iran.
Iran is going to start an important discussion on Tehran's nuclear program with the governments of various European countries on Friday. In such a context, Israel and Iran, the mutual enemies in the Middle East, started a war of words.
"I will do everything to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," Netanyahu told Israeli broadcaster Channel Fourteen on Thursday. I will use everything that can be used for this.
Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons. They don't admit it though. Preventing a rival country from acquiring these weapons has long been one of Israel's top defense priorities.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel will turn its attention to Iran from the day after the ceasefire in Lebanon takes effect. However, he did not elaborate on what steps will be taken to pay attention.
Iran launched two rounds of missile attacks on Israel this year due to the killing of the two top leaders of the Palestinian independence organization Hamas and the Lebanese armed organization Hezbollah as well as an Iranian general.
In response to these Iranian attacks, Israel has also carried out limited attacks on the country. Last October 26, Israel attacked several Iranian military installations.
In 2015, six world powers reached an agreement with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program. The country was granted relief from tough sanctions on the condition that Iran limit its program without progressing to the level of building nuclear weapons.
Iran has always denied its desire to build nuclear weapons. The country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has the ultimate authority in deciding whether to build his country's nuclear weapons. He also issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons.
