EILAT, Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, displaying on Monday what Israel said were seized, Iranian-supplied missiles bound for militants in Gaza, urged the West not to be fooled by Tehran’s diplomacy on its nuclear program.

Last week the Israeli navy captured a ship in the Red Sea carrying arms that the military said included forty M-302 surface-to-surface rockets manufactured in Syria and capable of striking most of Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Along with the missiles, some 180 mortar shells and 400,000 rifle rounds were laid out in neat piles on a pier in the southern port of Eilat. A navy missile boat that took part in the raid was docked behind the display.

Netanyahu was briefed by intelligence officers during a live broadcast on the weapons and shipping documentation that connected the stockpile to Iran.

Iran and Gaza’s Islamist Hamas rulers, both hostile to the Jewish state, rejected the Israeli findings as fabrications.

“(The world) wants to delude themselves that Iran has changed its intention to obtain nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said. “All I heard was a handful of soft condemnations of Iran from the international community in response to this murderous cargo.”

“But we were witness to the smiles and handshakes of Western representatives with the leaders of the Iranian regime in Tehran, at the exact same time these missiles were unloaded in Eilat,” he said.

The hawkish Israeli premier was referring to a visit to Tehran by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Iran and six world powers, represented by Ashton, struck a deal on Nov. 24 under which Tehran curbed some sensitive nuclear activities for six months in return for limited relief from sanctions. Meanwhile the two sides will try to hammer out a long-term agreement on the scope of Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran has repeatedly rejected allegations that it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East’s sole nuclear arsenal, says a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a mortal threat to its existence.

“Before it is too late, the world must awake from the illusion it is currently in and prevent Iran from achieving the capability to develop nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said.

World reaction subdued

Netanyahu’s visit to this Red Sea port capped a six-day PR blitz aimed at persuading world powers to toughen their position in nuclear talks. So far, the international reaction has been subdued, illustrating the uphill battle the Israeli leader faces in his efforts to change the minds of world leaders about Iran’s outreach to the West.

“There are those who would prefer that we not hold this news conference here today, they feel uncomfortable that we show what is really happening inside Iran,” Netanyahu said.

“Iran, a brutal regime, has not abandoned its deep involvement in terrorism, its systematic efforts to undermine peace and security throughout the Middle East and its ambition to destroy the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “What is new is not Iran’s deeds or its lies, but the desire of many in the international community to bury their heads in the sand.”

The tough comments threatened to further strain Netanyahu’s already tense relations with the European Union and the White House.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington that the US is concerned about Iran’s support for militants but that it is still focused on resolving the nuclear issue.
“There are remaining concerns we have about their terrorist activities, about — or activities tied to terrorism, including the transfer, of course, of weapons, and — as well as human rights abuses, and we’ll continue to hold them accountable,” she said.
Israel believes that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon, saying a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a threat to the existence of the Jewish state, citing Iranian calls for Israel’s destruction, its development of long-range missiles and its support for hostile militant groups on Israel’s borders. Iran denies that it is pursuing weapons technology.
Netanyahu has been an outspoken critic of the efforts by six world powers to negotiate a deal with Iran that would substantially scale back its nuclear program in exchange for ending international sanctions. He says a current, interim deal gives Iran too much relief while getting little in return, and fears a final agreement would leave the Islamic Republic with the capability to make a bomb.
Since last Wednesday’s naval raid, Netanyahu has done his utmost to use persuade the world that the shipment revealed the “true face” of Iran.
As the raid was announced, the military released slick video presentations illustrating the circuitous 5,000-mile (8,000 kilometer) route the weapons had been meant to take — starting in Syria, then to Iran and Iraq before heading toward Sudan and overland to Gaza — along with clips showing naval commandos discovering the rockets far out at sea.
The government gave a hero’s welcome to the returning commandos and released more videos when the seized ship, the KLOS C, arrived in Eilat over the weekend. To help ensure heavy coverage of Monday’s event, the government organized a special flight for the media to make the trip to Eilat, a four-hour drive along treacherous, narrow roads from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
After the news conference, Netanyahu got on the bus carrying reporters and thanked them for covering the event.