Netanyahu calls on world to heed ‘wake-up call’ on Iran

Netanyahu called on the international community to counter the Islamic Republic’s aggression following the resignation of Lebanon’s Prime Minister.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to the dramatic resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saed Hariri on Saturday, saying it was “a wake-up call to the international community to take action against Iranian aggression.”

Hariri, in an address made in Saudi Arabia, announced he was resigning his position as prime minister of the country, citing Iran’s hostility and meddling in his country.

Iran generated “disorder and destruction” in Lebanon and meddled in its internal affairs as well as in other Arab countries, Hariri charged.

Referring to the Hezbollah terror group, which is based in Lebanon and supported and funded by Iran, Hariri said, “Iran’s arm … has managed to impose a fait accompli on Lebanon through the power of its weapons.”

“They have built a state within a state,” he declared.

“I say to Iran and its allies – you have lost in your efforts to meddle in the affairs of the Arab world,” Hariri continued, adding that the region “will rise again, and the hands that you have wickedly extended into it will be cut off.”

Hariri also said there was a recent attempt to assassinate him. His father Rafiq Hariri was killed by Hezbollah in 2005.

“The resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri and his remarks are a wake-up call to the international community to take action against the Iranian aggression that is trying to turn Syria into a second Lebanon,” Netanyahu stated. Iran has been working to establish a military presence in Syria.

“This aggression endangers not only Israel but the entire Middle East. The international community needs to unite and confront this aggression,” the Israeli premier demanded.

Iran denied Hariri’s charges and said his registration was a US and “Zionist” plot against the Islamic Republic.

“The resigning Lebanese prime minister’s repetition of the unrealistic and unfounded accusations of the Zionists, Saudis and Americans against Iran is an indication that this resignation is a new scenario for creating tension in Lebanon and the region,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi stated. “But we believe that the resistant people of Lebanon will pass this stage easily.

“The sudden resignation of Mr. Hariri and his statement in another country is not only surprising and regrettable but is also an indication of his playing a game designed by those who want ill for the region, and the winner of this game is not Arabic or Muslim countries but the Zionists,” he charged.