Israel's Defense Ministry Rebuffs Obama, Compare
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Compares Iran Deal to Pre-WWII Agreement With Nazis
Israel's Defense Ministry harshly rejected President Obama's remarks about the Iran deal, disputing that it no longer opposes the international agreement reached in Vienna in July of last year.
While adamantly defending the deal on Thursday, Obama said "it's the assessment of the Israeli military and intelligence community ... that acknowledges this has been a game-changer."
In disagreeing, the Defense Ministry compared the deal to the 1938 Munich Agreement between European powers and Nazi Germany, saying that it had no basis in reality.
The statement, reportedly from Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, said:
"The Israeli defense establishment believes that agreements have value only if they are based on reality. They have no value if the facts on the ground are opposite to the ones the agreement is based on.
The Munich Agreements didn't prevent World War II and the Holocaust because their fundamental assumption - that Nazi Germany can be partner to any agreement - was false, and because world leaders at the time ignored clear statements made by Hitler and other Nazi leaders."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a softer tone, saying: "While Israel's view on the Iran deal remains unchanged... it firmly believes that Israel has no greater ally than the United States."
Some opposition leaders in Israel's government criticized Lieberman's statement, saying it would hurt ties with the U.S.