Israel's leaders expressed their disappointment with the UK's opposition to extending the conventional arms embargo on Iran during Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab's visit to the region on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the visiting minisiter Israel was concerned over the lack of support for a US push to maintain an arms embargo and restore broader UN sanctions on Iran. The prime minsiter said that "he expects Britain to change its policy towards Iran and that it should join the American sanctions".
"Look at Iran's aggressive behavior today without a nuclear weapon. Imagine what kind of a threat it would be to the whole world if it was in position of one," Netanyahu told Raab.
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi echoed Netanyahu's position, pointing to Tehran's support for terrorist groups in the region, including Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis, as proof that "Iran is undermining the stability of the Middle East."
"E3 countries must understand that regional stability and halting Iran's arms shipments is a matter of global interest," Ashkenazi said. "I call on all countries to join the U.S. in restoring the sanctions mechanism."
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Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and his British counterpart Dominic Raab
(Photo: AFP)
He also thanked the UK for designating Hezbollah as a terrorist group in its entirety and urged it to support Israel's stance to increase and expand the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.
Raab, in turn, hailed the bilateral ties between the two countries as "strong," adding that the UK "wants to strengthen it even further."
He also welcomed the normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Jerusalem's suspension of its plans to annex parts of the West Bank. "It is a positive and important step," Raab said.
Following the meetings and before traveling to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Raab said on Twitter, "I reiterated UK support for dialogue with Palestinians to achieve lasting peace through a viable 2-state solution."
The Palestinians see the UAE's move as a "stab in the back" while their own conflict with the Jewish state remains unresolved.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA on Tuesday quoted Abbas as telling Raab: "Peace will not come by bypassing the Palestinians, by normalizing with Arab countries (...) but rather will be done on the basis of international law and the Arab Peace Initiative."
Following the meetings, Raab said on Twitter, "I reiterated UK support for dialogue with Palestinians to achieve lasting peace through a viable 2-state solution," he wrote.
First published: 18:17, 08.25.20