Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will use his UN spotlight to warn that Iran is setting a “honey” trap with sweet words from President Hassan Rouhani.
“This is not honey. This is venom,” he will say in his speech next Tuesday, according to a prepared text leaked to the Israeli media.
The prime minister also will link Iran to another member of the axis of evil.
“Iran must not be allowed to repeat North Korea’s ploy to get nuclear weapons,” said an Israeli official citing a draft of Netanyahu’s speech. “Just like North Korea before it, Iran professes peaceful intentions. It talks the talk of non-proliferation while seeking to ease sanctions and buy more time for its nuclear program.”
Netanyahu — who has characterized Rouhani as a smooth-talking version of predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — directed his UN delegates to walk out when the Iranian president delivers his UN speech.
“Just last week, Rouhani, like Ahmadinejad before him, refused to recognize the Holocaust as an historical fact,” Netanyahu’s office said.
He was referring to how Rouhani ducked a question about the Holocaust, saying, “I’m not a historian. I’m a politician.”
“When Iran’s leaders stop denying the Holocaust of the Jewish people, and stop calling for the destruction of the Jewish state and recognize Israel’s right to exist, the Israeli delegation will attend their addresses at the General Assembly,” Netanyahu said.
In Jerusalem Tuesday, Netanyahu issued a warning to world leaders, saying: “Israel would welcome a genuine diplomatic solution that truly dismantles Iran’s capacity to develop nuclear weapons. But we will not be fooled by half-measures that merely provide a smoke screen for Iran’s continual pursuit of nuclear weapons. And the world should not be fooled either.”
He said he would discuss the Iranian issue with President Obama next week.
“I appreciate President Obama’s statement that ‘Iran’s conciliatory words will have to be matched by action that is transparent and verifiable,’ ” Netanyahu said.
Israeli officials were relieved when a much-speculated Obama-Rouhani handshake and “hallway” summit fell apart Tuesday.
Yuval Steinitz, Netanyahu’s intelligence-and-strategic-affairs minister, told Israeli Army Radio, “Rouhani wants to hoodwink, and some in the world want to be hoodwinked, and the role of little Israel is to explain the truth and stand in the breach.”