For Immediate Release: February 13, 2019
Contact: Mana Mostatabi | [email protected]

Washington, D.C. – The National Iranian American Council issued the following statement after the Israeli Prime Minister’s office supposedly mistranslated Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks in Hebrew and indicated that Arab nations and Israel are working to advance “the common interest of war with Iran:”

“A war with Iran is fundamentally at odds with the security interests of the United States, Israel, the people of Iran, and the entire Middle East. Whether the Prime Minister’s words were intentionally muddled or not, his provocative message needs no interpretation. It is clear through the Prime Minister’s long-standing signaling that his intention is to build support for a confrontation with Iran.

“The Prime Minister’s efforts to stoke a war with Iran were successfully halted by the carefully calculated, diplomacy-driven approach of the Obama Administration. Unfortunately, those at the helm of U.S. leadership today – some of whom have themselves openly called for war with Iran – are unlikely to tell Netanyahu to stand down.

“There is no doubt that the Trump Administration eagerly welcomes such provocations as yet another spoke in the campaign to pressure and punish our allies for constructively engaging with Iran, and to misuse resources on efforts like the anti-Iran summit unfolding in Warsaw this week. With the summit largely spurned by our Western European allies, the administration was forced to spin the event from an Iran-centric gathering to one focused on broader Middle East peace and security issues.

“Just as there is little to misinterpret with regard to the Prime Minister’s words, there is nothing subtle about the true intent of the Warsaw summit, and the guest list proves it. Gathered are those most invested in seeing a confrontation with Iran: Gulf autocrats and the Israeli Prime Minister.

“Like many, we do, and continue to, strongly condemn Iranian officials who have verbally threatened Israel. We would expect that all those who rush to condemn Iran for its provocative rhetoric against Israel to similarly rebuke the Prime Minister for doing the same in reverse.

The global community must consistently call out parties seeking to sow instability, and this includes by being vigilant about the very real machinations towards war that are being undertaken.”

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