Netanyahu: Europeans support Israel’s demand for Iran to leave Syria

"Iran needs to leave Syria, from all of Syria."

By HERB KEINON
Updated: JUNE 11, 2018 00:14
French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they attend a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 5, 2018. (photo credit: PHILIPPE WOJAZER / REUTERS)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they attend a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 5, 2018.
(photo credit: PHILIPPE WOJAZER / REUTERS)
Germany, France and Britain all agree that Iran should leave Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, summing up his trip last week to those three countries.
“I concentrated on the Iranian aggression in our region, on the latest developments in our region and – first and foremost – on Iran’s efforts to establish a military presence in Syria,” Netanyahu said at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting. “The leaders agreed with the main goal that I set, and this is formulating a broad international agreement that Iran needs to leave Syria, from all of Syria.”
The prime minister said that even though Iran’s departure from Syria is going to be a “long process, I believe that if you set a goal, if you know where you are going, you have a greater chance of getting there.”
Netanyahu said he made clear to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May that Israel would “take strong action against attempts to establish a presence against us, and also against attacks on us.”
He said he believed this position was “understood and accepted” by the three leaders.
Netanyahu did not mention in the cabinet meeting that each of the leaders also made clear publicly that they continue to support the Iranian nuclear agreement which Israel adamantly opposes, and which the US withdrew from last month.