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Israel attacks 'hypocrisy' of international community on Iran | Israel attacks 'hypocrisy' of international community on Iran |
(35 minutes later) | |
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the international community of "hypocrisy" over Iran. | |
Mr Netanyahu spoke as the Israeli military unveiled what it alleged was a cache of Syrian-made weapons being sent by Iran to militants in the Gaza Strip. | |
He criticised EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who visited Tehran at the weekend, for her "smiles and handshakes" with Iran's leaders. | He criticised EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who visited Tehran at the weekend, for her "smiles and handshakes" with Iran's leaders. |
Iran has dismissed as "failed lies" the accusation it was behind the shipment. | |
A spokesman for Hamas, the militant Palestinian Islamist movement that governs Gaza, has meanwhile said it is all a "silly joke". | |
'Denying the facts' | |
Israel's navy seized a Panamanian-flagged vessel, the Klos-C, in the Red Sea off Sudan last Wednesday, and said it was carrying dozens of M-302 rockets, which have a range of 150km to 200km (93-124 miles). | |
The weapons had been tracked for several months as they were flown from Damascus to Tehran and then taken to a port in southern Iran, it alleged. From there, it added, they were loaded on to the Klos-C, which sailed to Iraq, where containers of cement were added. | |
On Monday, Mr Netanyahu said the world's apparent decision to downplay the discovery in favour of seeking improved relations with Iran was "evidence of the era of hypocrisy in which we are living". | |
"The ship was organised by Iran, dispatched by Iran, financed by Iran. The missiles were loaded by Iran, in Iran," he added. | |
"Now, as usual, Iran denies these facts. In fact its foreign minister calls these facts "failed lies". But it's Iran who's lying." | "Now, as usual, Iran denies these facts. In fact its foreign minister calls these facts "failed lies". But it's Iran who's lying." |
The Israeli leader said he had heard only a handful of condemnations of this "murderous delivery", which was intercepted shortly before Baroness Ashton travelled to Tehran. | |
"By comparison," he said, "if we build a balcony in a neighbourhood of Jerusalem, we hear a chorus of vociferous condemnation of the state of Israel from the international community." | "By comparison," he said, "if we build a balcony in a neighbourhood of Jerusalem, we hear a chorus of vociferous condemnation of the state of Israel from the international community." |
Mr Netanyahu has long claimed that the West is being fooled by Iran's diplomatic overtures following the election last August of President Hassan Rouhani, who was presented as a moderate. | |
World powers are currently engaged in talks with Iran in a bid to convince Tehran to scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. | World powers are currently engaged in talks with Iran in a bid to convince Tehran to scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. |
Speaking after meeting with Baroness Ashton in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a nuclear deal could come in the next four months. | Speaking after meeting with Baroness Ashton in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a nuclear deal could come in the next four months. |
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