Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid at an Israeli Air Force Base, September 6, 2022. Photo credit: Koby Gideon GPO

Iran will provoke Israel’s “long arm” if it continues on its path to become a nuclear state, Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned on Tuesday.

“It is still too early to know if we have indeed succeeded in stopping the nuclear agreement, but Israel is prepared for every threat and every scenario,” Lapid stated during a security briefing at the Nevatim Israel Air Force base. “If Iran continues to test us, it will discover Israel’s long arm and capabilities.”

“We will continue to act on all fronts against terrorism and against those who seek to harm us,” he cautioned.

Lapid disclosed that he agreed with US President Joe Biden that Israel will not be bound by the impending Iran nuclear deal should it be signed and that it has a free hand to act to avert the possibility of Tehran becoming a nuclear threat.

Lapid’s comments come as Mossad Director David Barnea is in Washington, DC to clarify Israel’s position about the dangers of the emerging nuclear deal between Iran and Western powers. Israel has been seeking to tighten security and intelligence coordination with the US on the Iranian nuclear issue.

In recent weeks, Israel increased its diplomatic efforts against the emerging nuclear agreement as the indirect talks between the US and Western powers to salvage Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – appeared to be drawing to a close, following more than 16 months of negotiations. The JCPAO offered sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.

Israeli government officials have said that the efforts have already borne some fruit as a few points which would have caused damage to Israel and the world have been excluded from the draft agreement.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Isaac Herzog spoke before the German Bundestag urging the “family of nations to work firmly and assertively against Iran and its plans to develop nuclear weapons.”

“The guideline must be clear: a state that denies the Holocaust, a state that acts out of hatred and belligerency, a state that threatens the State of Israel’s right to exist – is ineligible to sign deals that will only embolden it, is ineligible for kickbacks or funds, is ineligible for concessions, under any circumstances,” Herzog asserted during his speech. “The international community must stand on the right side of history, set clear conditions, impose fierce and essential sanctions, create an impermeable buffer between Iran and nuclear capabilities – it must act, and not back down.”