“Are we permitted to defend ourselves?” the prime minister asked rhetorically.
By World Israel News Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed International Atomic Energy Agency director General Rafael Grossi for saying on Saturday that it would be illegal for Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear plant.
During discussions in Iran, Grossi initially was discussing the Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, which Russia was attacking while receiving military aid from the Islamic Republic.
He then clarified, in response to questions, that such an attack would be illegal anywhere, including an attack by Israel on Iranian facilities.
“We certainly hope that we are going to be able to protect the nuclear power plant which is under threat now, which is Zaporizhzhia. But this is valid and applicable to every nuclear facility in the world,” Grossi said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded defiantly, saying “it is clear that we are [attacking Iranian nuclear sites] and we will do so.
“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. Rafael Grossi is a worthy gentleman who said something unworthy. Against which law?” the prime minister said in a statement to the press.
“Is Iran, which openly calls for our destruction, permitted to defend the destructive weapons that would slaughter us? Are we permitted to defend ourselves?
“It is clear that we are,” he said, referring to successful attacks in recent years. “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.
“I say this because nothing will deter us from defending our country and preventing our enemies from eliminating the state of the Jews,” Netanyahu said.
“We are on the eve of Purim: 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,” he concluded.
Inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog found uranium particles enriched up to 83.7% in Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear site, according to a report seen last week.
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