Netanyahu accuses Iran of seeking to 'colonize' Syria for a Mideast 'empire'

"Israel will not allow Iran's regime to put the noose of terror around our neck," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday. "We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act, if necessary, not only against Iranian proxies that are attacking us but against Iran itself."

Netanyahu alleged Iran is attempting to "colonize" Syria, which is located between the two countries, as part of a larger project "to establish this continuous empire surrounding the Middle East from the south in Yemen but also trying to create a land bridge from Iran to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza." As he spoke, he waved a piece of an Iranian drone recently downed on Israeli land.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif labeled the remarks "a cartoonish circus which does not even deserve a response." He accused Israel of practicing "aggression as a policy against its neighbors," saying Netanyahu is angry because "the so-called invincibility [of Israel] has crumbled."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up