Israel's leader says an "aggressive and confrontational speech" by Iran's supreme leader shows that any expectations a nuclear deal would soften the militancy of the Islamic Republic were misguided.
On Saturday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the agreement won't change Iran's approach to the United States and it would continue supporting the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militant groups.
Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Iran doesn't "even try to hide the fact" that it will use a looming lifting of sanctions to further arm regional militant groups and to oppose American and Israeli interests around the Middle East.
Netanyahu has been among the fiercest critics of the nuclear agreement reached with Iran last week. He has urged U.S. lawmakers for months to hold out for a better Iran deal and said there was no way to compensate Israel if the nuclear agreement goes through.
"I think the right thing to do is merely not to go ahead with this deal. There are many things to be done to stop Iran's aggression and this deal is not one of them," Netanyahu said on CBS' "Face the Nation" as he continued a string of U.S. media interviews denouncing the deal reached on Tuesday between Iran and six major powers.
The deal must be reviewed by Congress, where lawmakers will have up to 82 days to decide whether to reject it.
The Israeli prime minister believes that the nuclear agreement reached in Vienna to curb Iran's nuclear program does not prevent but only puts off Iran from becoming a nuclear armed nation, and that relaxing the strict sanctions regime gives it billions of dollars to do so.
Netanyahu says he felt obligated to speak out because the deal endangers his country, the region and the world and there was no way Israel could feel safe if it takes effect.
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