Israeli PM Says Arab States Would Appreciate Strike on Iran - East Idaho News
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Israeli PM Says Arab States Would Appreciate Strike on Iran

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Getty 072012 BenjaminNetanyahu?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1351759896483GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images(JERUSALEM) — How would the Arab states react if Israel launched a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes the shock would immediately be followed by praise for the action to neutralize a serious threat to the region.

Interviewed by French magazine Paris Match, Netanyahu downplayed the notion that knocking out Iran’s nuclear plants would destabilize the Middle East because of imminent retaliation by Tehran.

The Israeli leader told Paris Match, “Five minutes after, contrary to what the skeptics say, I think a feeling of relief would spread across the region.”

Netanyahu’s reasoning is that Iran is not popular among its Arab neighbors who also understand “that a nuclear armed Iran would be dangerous for them, not just for Israel.”

The U.S. is opposed to Israel acting unilaterally to destroy the Iranian nuclear threat but hasn’t ruled out that option if strong international sanctions fail to stop Tehran from ultimately building an atomic bomb.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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