“My strong advice to the Iranians would be not to take any further steps that would break the terms of the agreement, not to acquire a nuclear weapon,” said Johnson.
By World Israel News Staff
British MP Boris Johnson, considered a frontrunner to replace resigning Prime Minister Theresa May at the helm of the Conservative Party, says that he is a “passionate Zionist” and that “wild horses wouldn’t keep me away” from visiting the Jewish State as British premier.
Johnson was quoted in “the only Jewish media interview of his campaign to become prime minister,” which appeared in the British Jewish News.
On Iran, Johnson said he is “prepared” to consider sanctions against the Islamic Republic on the heels of its announcement that it has begun enriching more uranium than permitted under the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement reached with world powers, including Britain.
“My strong, strong advice to the Iranians would be to cease this madness, not to take any further steps that would break the terms of the agreement, and not to acquire a nuclear weapon,” stated Johnson.
“I think that there are enough tensions in that region without triggering a nuclear arms race, whose consequences would be very hard to foresee, and which would certainly pose very difficult choices for any Israeli government,” he told the Jewish News, adding that “as Prime Minister, I’d make sure we continue to do everything we can to constrain Iran’s disruptive behavior in the region.”
In the interview, Johnson was asked about having characterized the 2014 Israeli military campaign in Gaza against the Hamas terror organization as “disproportionate.” At the time, he served as mayor of London.
In response, he said that he understood “why Israel reacted in the way that it did, and I understand the provocation and the outrageous behavior that occasioned that response…Israel has a right to respond, Israel has a right to defend itself…I just joined with those who say ‘I want the Israeli response to be proportionate.’”
Johnson maintained that he “could see the logic” in moving the British Embassy to Jerusalem but believed that “the moment for us to play that card is when we make further progress,” the Jewish News reported.
He said that he agreed that the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is part of an anti-Semitic “syndrome,” adding that “anybody who knows anything about it knows that actually, the boycott and disinvestment movement will probably hit hardest Palestinian community people who are in jobs, are benefitting from Israeli investment, Israeli farming, whatever.”
Johnson condemned the Palestinian policy of paying salaries to terrorists. “I think it’s ludicrous that there should be any kind of financial incentive or compensation for terrorist activities,” he said.