Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

If Iranian President Hassan Rouhani were to call him on the phone, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would tell him to stop threatening his country, he told Israel’s i24 News.

“I’d tell him to stop calling for the eradication of Israel, stop calling Israel the cancer of the world and stop building nuclear weapons to destroy the state of Israel and coincidentally to threaten Europe,” he said.

Netanyahu also rejected Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

“You’re building intercontinental ballistic missiles that have only one purpose which is to carry nuclear weapons to Europe and beyond, to the US,” he said, addressing the Iranians. “Stop all that… shut down your underground nuclear facilities. They’re all military facilities.”

During the interview, Netanyahu explained that countries in the region had altered their strategy towards Israel because of its approach to Iran.

“I think countries that traditionally thought that Israel was an enemy, now understand that Israel and they are on the same side, that we are being challenged by this very aggressive Iranian regime. This is changing the way many in the Arab world are thinking about… their relationship with Israel. Will this develop into something beyond it? I hope so.”