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Leaked Netanyahu Tape: We Made Trump Cancel The Iran Deal
18
July, 2018
On
Tuesday an Israeli television channel aired leaked video footage it
obtained exclusively showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
boasting that he
had personally convinced President Trump to abandon the Iran nuclear
deal. The
statements were made at a small dinner event where he addressed
senior members of his Likud party.
The
video, aired by Israel's Kan
News shows
Netanyahu enthusiastically praising his and Likud leadership's
efforts, saying “We
convinced the US president [to exit the deal] and I had to stand up
against the whole world and come out against this agreement." He
added, "And
we didn't give up."
"
Image
source: Reuters via YNet News
According
to a translation of the prime minister's words by The
Times of Israel he
further agrees that "the
Iranian regime" will "disappear with the help of God" —
in the words of one of his supporters, to which Netanyahu adds, "You
said it. From your mouth to God."
תיעוד בלעדי | רה"מ @netanyahu התגאה במפגש פוליטי סגור של הליכוד כי הוא זה שהצליח להוביל לביטול הסכם הגרעין: "שכנענו את נשיא ארה"ב" #חדשותהערב @shemeshmicha
The prime minister then begins to speak about the Iranian regime — “not the Iranian people, I have nothing against them” — before he is interrupted by an unidentified person off-screen who says, “It will disappear with the help of God.”
“You said it. From your mouth to God,” Netanyahu says in response as the clip ends.
Netanyahu does not explain in the video aired by Kan how he convinced Trump to exit the deal. Trump had vowed to scrap what he assailed as the “worst deal ever” before becoming president.
The
Israeli broadcaster that obtained the footage said it was filmed two
weeks ago.
When
early this week the New
York Times published the
Israeli account of how a daring Mossad operation deep inside Iran
netted what are said to be tens of thousands of secret Iranian
nuclear documents in an "Ocean's 11"-style heist, we
noted the Times story
appeared to be a
propaganda victory lap of sorts meant
to further bolster Israeli intelligence's reputation and far-reaching
abilities abroad.
Leaked Netanyahu tape: We made Trump nix Iran deal timesofisrael.com/in-recording-n…
Netanyahu unveiled
the stolen cache of about 55,000 pages of documents and 183 CDs in
a television address that
the said proved the existence of an illegal and ongoing secret
program to "test and build nuclear weapons" called Project
Amad.
Just
days after the colorful and prop-laden Netanyahu presentation,
President
Trump announced he would follow through on prior threats to
pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, or JCPOA. Observers noted at the
time that Netanyahu's address had a
single audience in mind in the person of Donald Trump during
the very week the White House was intensely mulling a final decision
over whether to finally pull the plug on the JCPOA.
Nothing really new in @netanyahu Iran speech. Confirms that Iran closed down nuclear weapons program in 2003. Continued technology efforts. In principle all of this well known. No allegation that Iran cheats on 2015 nuclear deal. haaretz.com/israel-news/pm…
While
it appears Netanyahu had his April televised presentation in mind
when he says in the clip "I
had to stand up against the whole world," there
is also little doubt that his personal appeals to Trump on the issue
were even more direct and persistent. Other signatories to the deal
brokered in 2015 under the Obama administration have vowed to stick
by it, which include Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and
China — even as the White House threatens punitive measures
against any country that continues to do business with Iran.
Earlier
this summer it was confirmed that a high level joint US-Israeli
"working group" under the oversight of National
Security Advisor John Bolton has been meeting
for months with
the goal of facilitating regime change in Tehran.
As Axios reported: "Israel
and the United States formed a joint working group a few months ago
that is focused on internal efforts to encourage protests within Iran
and pressure the country's government." So
it's very clear that Netanyahu has the White House's ear on Iran
(though this is no surprise).
Meanwhile,
Netanyahu has posted to his
official Twitter account a
clip of Trump saying that Russian President Putin is a "Bibi
fan". The
statement came in a Fox News interview following the US president’s
summit and press conference with Putin.
In
the uploaded clip Trump said he and Putin “came to a lot of good
conclusions” during the meeting, including “a
really good conclusion for Israel, something very strong.” Trump
said Putin
is “a believer in Israel; he is a fan of Bibi and really helping
him a lot – and will help a lot, which is good for all of us.”
Netanyahu
posted the interview segment with the commentary in Hebrew: “I
will continue to strengthen Israel as a rising global force.”
Likely,
Netanyahu will continue his boasting about his personal intervention
and impact with the White House both in public and in private, so
more such revelatory footage will probably surface in the coming
months.
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