
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday claimed Israel creates the "greatest danger" in the region, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu the day before in Congress detailed how Iranian aggression is wreaking havoc in the Middle East, and warned against a nuclear deal.
In his speech on Capitol Hill, Netanyahu said Tuesday the nuclear agreement US President Barack Obama wants with Tehran "is so bad...it paves Iran's path to the bomb" and "would spark a nuclear arms race in the most dangerous part of the planet."
Speaking to his cabinet on Wednesday, Rouhani said Israel "claims to speak of peace and warns of future threats while it is the creator of the greatest danger for the region," as quoted by ISNA news agency, reports AFP.
Iran and the so-called P5+1 group - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany - agreed in November to reach a political agreement by March 31 and a final deal before July 1.
But Iran now wants a single agreement that includes both a political framework and technical details, and is demanding to have 190,000 centrifuges which would allow it to build a nuclear arsenal within week.
"The people of the world are content with the way negotiations with the P5+1 group are moving forward...but there is only this occupying regime that is enraged by these talks," Rouhani claimed in reference to Israel, even though sources in Arab countries weighed in after Netanyahu's speech to support him.
"Americans and the people of the world are more intelligent than to listen to advice from an ever-warmongering regime," he said.
Ironically, Netanyahu pointed out in his speech that Iran has been rapidly widening its grasp, largely influencing Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq through its proxy groups and direct involvement.
Rouhani accused Israel of possessing "many atomic bombs" and refusing to submit its "nuclear installations...to inspections by the International
Atomic Energy Agency," though Israel has unofficially had nuclear capability for many years and never used it, while Iran has openly threatened to annihilate Israel.
Israel has said it will not rule out unilateral military action against Tehran to prevent it from developing atomic weapons.