In an interview with NBC on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei cannot be trusted because he heads a “cult” that is “wild in its ambition and aggression” adding it is a “messianic, apocalyptic, radical regime.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu in NBC interview, following UNGA speech, October 2, 2013. – Photo: Screenshot

Asked whether he believes the Iranians chose to elect President Hassan Rohani because they want change and a lifting of the sanctions, Netanyahu said he’s sure they do, but stressed that Iranians are not governed by Rohani but by Ayatollah Khamenei.

Netanyahu reiterated the dangers Iran poses and insisted the world must prevent it from reaching nuclear capacity. Netanyahu said Iran is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles whose “sole purpose is to arm them with a nuclear payload. You don’t want to be in a position where this messianic, apocalyptic, radical regime that has these wild ambitions but a nice spokesman gets away with building the weapons of mass death.”

Regarding the difference between former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Rohani, Netanyahu reiterated what he said during his United Nations General Assembly speech about a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, arguing that “a difference in style doesn’t make a difference in policy.”

Asked if Rohani’s recent gestures, such as tweeting a happy Rosh Hashana to Jews and admitting Nazis committed crimes against Jews could point towards a change in Iran’s approach, Netanyahu answered: “I look at what they do, not what they say.”

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View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.550253