Iran is becoming more audacious due to lack of retaliation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, adding that Israel will not turn the other cheek.

Speaking at an army officers’ course graduation ceremony, Netanyahu said that “our region — Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Yemen and Iran — is in turmoil and threats are popping up everywhere.”

Netanyahu may have been referring to the lack of a U.S. response to Iran’s downing of its spy drone in June and Tehran’s brazen attack on Saudi oil installations.

He added that Iranian forces are working tirelessly to arm themselves and said that Israel is preparing for any threat that may arise and will not hesitate to fiercely retaliate and that “those who act aggressively will pay a heavy price.”

On Monday, Netanyahu said that Iran has begun deploying missiles in Yemen in order to strike Israel.

According to Netanyahu, “Iran is already aspiring to obtain precision weapons to hit every target in the Middle East… they manufacture them in Iran and want to deploy them in Iraq and in Syria, and turn the 130,000-rocket arsenal in Lebanon into precision munitions. They aspire to do that, and they have already begun deploying them in Yemen in order to strike Israel from there as well.”

The premier stated that “We see Iran as the greatest threat to peace, stability, our security and the security of many others. They have fired into Saudi Arabia, they obstructed international shipping lanes, they attacked and killed Americans over the past decade in Afghanistan and in other places.” Netanyahu also praised the economic sanctions that the U.S. has slapped on Tehran.

Source » haaret