Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo | AP) 
World

Netanyahu says Israel will prevent enemies from obtaining nuclear weapons

It was Netanyahu's first comments related to Israel's admission early Wednesday that broke a more than 10-year official silence surrounding the raid.

From our online archive

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel will prevent enemies from obtaining nuclear weapons after its military admitted it carried out a 2007 air raid against a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor.

"The Israeli government, the (Israeli military), and the Mossad (intelligence agency) have prevented Syria from developing nuclear capability, and they deserve every credit for this," Netanyahu said on Twitter.

"Israel's policy has been and remains consistent -- to prevent our enemies from acquiring nuclear weapons."

It was Netanyahu's first comments related to Israel's admission early Wednesday that broke a more than 10-year official silence surrounding the raid, though it had always been widely assumed of being responsible for the strike.

The admission along with the release of newly declassified material related to the raid comes as Israel intensifies its warnings over the presence of its main enemy Iran in neighbouring Syria.

Netanyahu has also repeatedly called for a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran to be changed or eliminated.

The premier, however, did not mention Iran in his brief post.

Earlier Wednesday, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the raid should serve as a message for "everyone in the Middle East".

Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz was more explicit, saying it showed Israel would never allow nuclear weapons to be obtained by "countries like Iran who threaten its existence".

The real AI story of 2026 will be found in the boring, the mundane—and in China

Migration and mobility: Indians abroad grapple with being both necessary and disposable

Days after Bangladesh police's Meghalaya charge, Osman Hadi's alleged killer claims he is in Dubai

Post Operation Sindoor, Pakistan waging proxy war, has clear agenda to destabilise Punjab: DGP Yadav

Gig workers declare protest a success, say three lakh across India took part

SCROLL FOR NEXT