At the UN, Israel sets red lines for Iran

Netanyahu also drew specific red lines against Iranian expansionism in Syria.

The prime minister and former special forces operator began on an uplifting note, referencing Israel’s technological entrepreneurship. He described taking Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to the Mediterranean and using a small, portable desalination device to turn sea water into drinking water. Such innovation, he said, proves that Israel is home to “endless possibilities.”

Then Netanyahu broached the harder questions of security, warning about the Iran nucler deal’s sunset clause and its limited inspections authority. And Netanyahu lamented Iran’s escalating aggression across the Middle East.

“I warned,” he said, “that when the sanctions on Iran would be removed, Iran would behave like a hungry tiger unleashed, not joining the community of nations, but devouring nations, one after the other. And that’s precisely what Iran is doing today.”

Drawing on Winston Churchill’s 1946 “Iron Curtain” speech on the rise of Soviet imperialism, Netanyahu noted, “From the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, from Tehran to Tartus, an Iranian curtain is descending across the Middle East. Iran spreads this curtain of tyranny and terror over Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere, and it pledges to extinguish the light of Israel.”

As I’ve explained in relation to Iraq, Lebanon, the Persian Gulf, external terrorism, and extremist ideology more generally, Netanyahu’s assessment of Iranian post-deal escalation is absolutely correct.

But Netanyahu wasn’t done, he issued clear red lines.

“Today, I have a simple message for Ayatollah Khamenei, the dictator of Iran: The light of Israel will never be extinguished. Those who threaten us with annihilation put themselves in mortal peril. … We will act to prevent Iran from establishing permanent military bases in Syria for its air, sea and ground forces. We will act to prevent Iran from producing deadly weapons in Syria or in Lebanon for use against us. And we will act to prevent Iran from opening new terror fronts against Israel along our northern border.”

Netanyahu’s threats cannot be taken as idle. Less than two weeks ago, Israel launched airstrikes on a Syrian chemical weapons facility.

Moreover, Netanyahu’s warnings speak to the broader reality of Middle Eastern politics: the centrality of perception in driving policy choices. Israel perceives Iran as a regime that’s never more than a few steps away from instigating a new Holocaust. That’s why Netanyahu gave this speech; he wants us to know that whatever any other nation chooses to do, Israel won’t flinch.