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Israeli defense minister affirms Israel-US ties, but warns that Iran is a ‘terrorist monster’

Although Israel and the US enjoy close ties, a gap remains between the two allies regarding Iran, says Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. 

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Monday that the relations between the US and Israel were good, especially in the defense and military realms, but that a serious gap remained between the two allies on the issue of how to contend with the Iranian nuclear threat.

“There is a threat to the State of Israel, and instead of blocking Iran, they [P5+1] are paving the path for them,” Ya’alon told Israel’s Channel 2. Through the framework nuclear agreement, Iran is receiving legitimacy for the belligerency it has been exhibiting throughout the Middle East, he said.

Ya’alon explained that the contrast in opinion between the US and Israel is derived from a fundamental difference in policy and perspective.

“There is a world view, which we disagree with, that Iran will bring order to the Middle East. We believe that this is an error, and therefore we disagree with it and it is our obligation to make this public,” the defense minister declared.

Ya’alon was referring to reports that the Obama administration was seeking a regional alliance with Iran, hoping that the Islamic regime will restore order and serve as a stabilizing force in the Middle East.

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Ya’alon added that a final deal with Iran can still be prevented, since nothing has been signed.

He denied reports that the US stopped updating Israel on details of the nuclear negotiations.  “There was not one moment during which intelligence was not shared. Many baseless things were reported.”

“Iran is a terrorist monster that funds, trains and arms organizations and entities to wreak havoc among the pro-Western regimes in the Middle East and around the world, and it has no intention of stopping this,” Ya’alon stated on Sunday.

Framework Deal ‘Huge Achievement’ for Iran

The framework agreement reached Thursday between the P5+1 powers and Iran will not stop Iran’s nuclear development. Rather, it would set the stage for the Islamic Republic to “increase its appetite to spread disarray.”

The framework agreement between Iran and world powers was “a huge achievement for Iran and a historic mistake for the West,” Ya’alon said.