• Naftali Bennett: Tehran ‘seeks to dominate the region under its nuclear umbrella’
• ‘Israel won’t allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon’

Ali Younes

WASHINGTON: Israel’s prime minister on Monday warned that “Iran’s nuclear program has hit a watershed moment, and so has our tolerance.”

Speaking at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Naftali Bennett devoted more than half his speech to warning the world about Iran’s nuclear program.

He also attacked Iran over its human rights record, its military involvement in the Arab world, and its support for groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Islamic Jihad and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“Iran seeks to dominate the region, and seeks to do so under its nuclear umbrella,” Bennett said. “Israel won’t allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”

He also spoke of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s role in the 1988 massacre of thousands of political activists.

Conspicuously absent from Bennett’s speech was any reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though he praised the peace deals his country signed last year with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

Bennett also showcased Israel’s achievements in combating COVID-19, saying it was one of the first countries in the world to administer vaccines to its citizens.