‘Increased military aid for Israel is a contradiction’

Interior Minister and Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said on Monday that easing sanctions on Iran would be premature and result in continued confrontation with the international community. “We really believe that sanctions usually work,” Shalom told reporters in Jerusalem. “Sanctions brought Gaddafi to give up, brought South Africa to give up and brought Iran almost to give up, but unfortunately [in Iran's case] it didn't last as long as it should.” Shalom said he believed that easing sanctions would lead Iran farther down the path to becoming a nuclear power and using this for military purposes. “Israel cannot live with the idea of Iran as a nuclear power,” he said. Increased military aid to Israel as compensation “is not really something we are dealing with, because it looks like a contradiction. Why do we need more aid if everything will be alright?” Shalom said. Shalom made a strong affirmation of the relations between Israel and the United States, despite the deep disagreements surrounding the Iran deal. He argued that the bipartisan support for Israel in the US was “based on common values and common interests. Common values like democracy, like freedom, like human rights, like rule of law.... Israel is the best ally that the United States has and will ever have.” He also used the example of the current visit by US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to highlight the ongoing cooperation between the two countries. “As we always say among friends, we can agree to disagree,” Shalom stated, “and we disagree about the Iranian deal.”

‘Increased military aid for Israel is a contradiction’

Interior Minister and Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said on Monday that easing sanctions on Iran would be premature and result in continued confrontation with the international community.

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‘Increased military aid for Israel is a contradiction’

Interior Minister and Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said on Monday that easing sanctions on Iran would be premature and result in continued confrontation with the international community.

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