Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday praised the "tough” US position against Iran after President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued stark warnings to Tehran.
"I would like to praise the tough stand … against the aggression of the Iranian regime," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting.
Trump used Twitter on Sunday to send out an all-caps salvo: "Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."
On Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had warned Trump not to "play with the lion's tail," saying that conflict with Iran would be the "mother of all wars".
Trump's comments came after Pompeo, in a major address to the Iranian diaspora in California, said Washington was not afraid to sanction top-ranking leaders of the "nightmare" Iranian regime.
"We are asking every nation, every nation who is sick and tired of the Islamic Republic's destructive behavior to join our pressure campaign. This especially goes for our allies in the Middle East and Europe, people who have themselves been terrorized by the violent regime's activity for decades," said Pompeo.
Netanyahu lobbied hard to have the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers canceled, and Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in May.
The Israeli prime minister has pledged to keep Iran from entrenching itself militarily in neighboring Syria.
