With U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at his side Monday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agrees with the U.S. administration that the nuclear deal with Iran is "disastrous" and noted their countries' shared work to prevent the Islamic republic from destabilizing the region.
"I want to salute both President [Donald] Trump and you, Mr. Vice President, for standing with the people of Iran, when so many in Europe and elsewhere were shamefully silent," Netanyahu said at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem before hosting Pence and his wife, Karen, for a private dinner.
"Some – and this is hard to believe – some actually hosted the regime's mouthpieces, while its goons were throwing thousands of Iranian protesters into prison," he said.
"There is still time for leaders to seize the opportunity that President Trump has offered them, to correct the failings of this failed deal," Netanyahu said.
"But if those leaders do not seize that opportunity, or if they offer only cosmetic changes, Israel will unequivocally support the president's decision to walk away from a bad deal and restore crippling sanctions. Our position is clear: Fully fix it or fully nix it," he added.
"I share the belief that Iran's radical regime will ultimately fall, and one day Iran's people will win the freedom they so justly deserve," the prime minister went on. "And when that day comes, they will remember those who stood with them and those who stood with their oppressors. You're on the right side of history."
Pence: Iran sowing chaos
Pence said the U.S. stands with Israel against the "rise of the common threat in Iran and the fight against radical Islam," and looks forward to a broader reconciliation across the Middle East.
"The United States will continue to work with Israel, and with nations across the world, to confront the leading state sponsor of terror – the Islamic Republic of Iran," Pence told Israeli lawmakers. "As the world has seen once again, the brutal regime in Iran is merely a brutal dictatorship that seeks to dominate its citizens and deny them of their most fundamental rights. History has proven, those who dominate their own people rarely stop there. And increasingly, we see Iran seeking to dominate the wider Arab world.
"That dangerous regime sows chaos across the region. Last year alone, even as its citizens cried out for help with basic necessities, Iran devoted more than $4 billion to malign activities in Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere across the region. It has supported terrorist groups that even now sit on Israel's doorstep. And worst of all, the Iranian regime has pursued a clandestine nuclear program, and at this very hour is developing advanced ballistic missiles.
"The Iran nuclear deal is a disaster, and the United States of America will no longer certify this ill-conceived agreement.
"At President Trump's direction, we're working to enact effective and lasting restraints on Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Earlier this month, the president waived sanctions on Iran to give the Congress and our European allies time to pass stronger measures. But as President Trump made clear, this is the last time.
"Unless the Iran nuclear deal is fixed, President Trump has said the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal immediately," said Pence.
Earlier in the day, speaking at the Knesset following Pence's speech there, Netanyahu said: "We have a common past. We have a common future. We have a shared destiny. America has no greater friend than Israel, and Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America.
"Let me express not only our profound gratitude but also our deepest hope that President Trump and you will succeed in strengthening the United States militarily and economically, so that America will continue to be the greatest power in the world for generations to come," the prime minister said.
Netanyahu also thanked Trump, Pence and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley for their unwavering support for Israel at the U.N. in the face of lies and malice.
Also at the Knesset, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, "Vice President Pence's speech was touching, inspiring and delivered a message of hope to all the peoples of the region."
Opposition MKs also welcomed Pence's message. Addressing the vice president's remarks about renewing the diplomatic process with the Palestinians, Opposition Chairman Isaac Herzog said: "We hope they have not given up and that the president, you and your administration will continue doing everything possible to kickstart the diplomatic process between us and the Palestinians."
Yair Lapid, whose Yesh Atid party is also part of the opposition, hailed Pence's speech at the onset of Monday's faction meeting.
"He [Pence] should know that not only the government welcomes his friendship and is happy about his visit to Israel, but the opposition as well. Vice President Pence is one of Israel's greatest friends in the world, a long-time fighter against the BDS movement, and a person whose commitment to the peace and security of Israel is worthy of our thanks and appreciation," Lapid said.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman took to Twitter on Monday and wrote: "Attending a special session of the Knesset today, I was moved to tears as Vice President Pence delivered his extraordinary address. Building on President Trump's historic announcement, the United States is returning to its core values and embracing its key allies."
