Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer praised President Trump at the Israeli-American Council (IAC) conference in Florida for leaving the Iran nuclear deal.
Dermer, who was being interviewed onstage by Channel 10’s Alon Ben David, praised Trump’s decision to exit the deal as “the most important decision an American president has made” to keep Israel secure.
“He had every world leader except for Israel and the Arab states… telling him not to do it,” Dermer said, adding that it took serious “courage” to “stand up to all that pressure and do the right thing.”
Dermer argued that the agreement “didn’t do what it said it was going to do which is block Iran from developing nuclear weapons,” pointing out that Iran had been advancing their nuclear program under the deal.
He added that the $150 billion in sanctions relief under the deal was a “signing bonus” for Iran, since Iran could have raked in $100 billion a year under the deal due to oil exports.
“Iran needs to understand that they have to change their behavior,” Dermer said.
By re-imposing sanctions on Iran, Trump is using “the U.S. economy to affect change” and make it tougher for Iran to fund their “war machine,” Dermer added.
“This deal is an unmitigated disaster for Israel and I’m so grateful that the president of the United States made the courageous decision to walk away,” Dermer said.
