Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Monday for all countries "to follow America's lead" in taking a hard line with Iran, including implementing tough sanctions.
Weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the international nuclear deal with Iran, his administration threatened to impose "the strongest sanctions in history," setting Washington and Tehran on a deeper course of confrontation.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a speech on Monday that the United States demands Iran to make sweeping changes – from dropping its nuclear program to pulling out of the Syrian civil war – or face severe economic sanctions as the Trump administration hardened its approach to Tehran.
"We believe this is the right policy. We believe it's the only policy that can ultimately guarantee the security of the Middle East and peace in our region. And we call on all countries to follow America's lead here because Iran is an aggressive force," Netanyahu said during a reception at the Foreign Ministry for the Paraguayan delegation in honor of moving the Paraguyan Embassy to Jerusalem earlier on Monday.
Echoing Netanyahu, United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said Monday that Pompeo was taking the right approach on Iran.
"Uniting [our] efforts is the correct path for Iran to realize the futility of its incursions and expansionism," Gargash wrote on his official Twitter account, several hours after Pompeo's policy speech on Iran.
A close U.S. ally in the energy-rich Gulf, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, accuses Iran of backing armed groups across the region in a bid for domination.
"The Pompeo strategy requires wisdom and a change of the Iranian compass," Gargash added.
