Netanyahu Urges France Not to Weaken on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed France on Friday not to weaken in its stance toward Iran in upcoming talks on the Islamic state’s nuclear program, a day before President Francois Hollande is due to visit the Zionist entity.Netanyahu, Hollande

Hollande arrives in the occupied Palestinian territories on Sunday where he expects a red carpet welcome over Paris’s disruptive role in the course of the recent nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers in Geneva.

He is reportedly slated to deliver a speech at the Israeli parliament (Knesset) on Monday.

Netanyahu said in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro published on Saturday that he is “impatient” to meet Hollande whom he described as “a close friend” of Israel.

Netanyahu added that he is looking forward to hosting the French president “at a time when the major powers, including France, are discussing ways to halt the Iranian nuclear program.”

“We hope that France will not weaken,” Netanyahu said. “We salute [Hollande’s] consistent and determined position on the Iranian issue.”

Netanyahu reiterated his government’s opposition to Iran pursuing any research that could lead to the development of a nuclear weapon, saying it should not possess heavy water reactors or centrifuges used to enrich radioactive material.

“My belief is that we must not lower our guard against a regime that helps [Syrian President Bashar] Assad kill tens of thousands of men, women and innocent children in Syria, spreading terrorism worldwide, and arming Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad with thousands of rockets aimed at Israeli towns, and finally, [a regime that] calls for the destruction of Israel,” he said.

Hollande has opposed lifting any economic sanctions on Iran until it provides further ‘guarantees’.