NETANYAHU TAGS IRAN AS MOST SERIOUS THREAT TO MIDEAST

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called Iran the most serious threat facing the Middle East and vowed never to let the country obtain nuclear weapons, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

His comments came a day after a cyberattack on a key Iranian nuclear facility, which Tehran called an act of terrorism committed by Israel. The plant in central Iran produces, among other things, new centrifuges for uranium enrichment.

"In the Middle East, there is no threat that is more serious, more dangerous, more pressing than that posed by the fanatical regime in Iran," Netanyahu told reporters while standing alongside visiting US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Israel, which rarely comments on secret operations abroad, has not confirmed or denied any responsibility for the attack on the underground Natanz nuclear facility. Netanyahu did not specifically respond to Tehran's accusation, but he once again made it clear where he stands on the subject.

"Iran has never given up its quest for nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them," the prime minister said, adding: "I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal role of eliminating Israel."

Iran says its nuclear program is purely for peaceful civilian purposes. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said earlier, before parliament, that "the Zionists want to sabotage Iran's nuclear achievements and the nuclear negotiations [in Vienna] with these terrorist operations."

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