SOFIA (BULGARIA): Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Iran the "most potent force of militant Islam," says he has warned Europe of possible Iranian attacks on its soil.
While speaking to media personnel's on Thursday after talks with his Bulgarian counterpart in Sofia, Netanyahu said radical Islam is a threat to the world and that Israel has recently revealed a number of Iranian plots to carry out attacks on European soil.
Netanyahu did not provide details, but cases involving alleged Iranian plots to attack opposition groups or figures in both France and Denmark have emerged in recent months. The Israeli premier's warnings about Iranian plots in Europe have been part of his campaign to pressurise European nations to take a tougher stance toward Tehran, a report said.
Israel was one of the only countries to side with the United States this year in its decision to pull out of Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and reimpose sanctions.
European countries refused to follow suit, and European powers Germany, France, and Britain have been working with Iran to keep the nuclear agreement in place and circumvent US sanctions.
Ahead of his trip to Bulgaria, Netanyahu said his goal is to "change the hostile and hypocritical approach of the European Union" on matters like Iran and the Palestinian question.
Netanyahu is meeting on November 2 in Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Varna with European leaders he views as more "friendly" in the Craiova Forum, which includes the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania, as well as the president of Serbia.
"This is not just a meeting of friends," Netanyahu said.
"It is also a bloc of countries with whom I want to promote my policy, to change the hypocritical and hostile attitude of the EU."