John Kerry to Netanyahu: 'Won't allow Iran nuclear bomb"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived in Israel for a short visit last night.

"I want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for another wonderful welcome," Kerry began. "We had a very friendly, productive and long discussion last night.

"We talked about some economic initiative, but the Prime Minister wanted to clarify unambiguously that any economic step that we take will not constitute a substitute, but complement the political track. The diplomatic track is a top priority, and other things can complement it.

"Regarding Iran, I reiterated to the Prime Minister, as I did yesterday with the President, that President Obama could not be more clear: Iran must not, nor will have, nuclear weapons. The United States of America made it clear that we stand not only with Israel but on the side of the entire international community and emphasize that we are serious, we are open to negotiations, but not to infinite negotiations. It must not be used as an excuse to continue efforts to develop nuclear weapons. We are aware that we are working very closely related according to our estimates. President Obama is not bluffing. He explained it well to me, and we hope that Iran will return to the table with a very serious proposal."

The Prime Minister answered and said, "I am determined not only to renew the peace process with the Palestinians, but to make a serious effort to end the conflict once and for all. This has economic factors, and we welcome any initiative that you and others suggest in this context. But this also has political ingredients - political discussions which will deal with a variety of issues, first and foremost on our part questions of recognition and security. This is a real effort, and we expect to move it along together with you.

"We talked about a number of other issues, and I will mention only two. Firstly, we talked about Syria and the human tragedy unfolding there. The disintegration of Syria creates a situation where one of the most dangerous weapon arsenals in the world now becomes available to terrorists whoever the are. This causes deep concern to both Israel and the U.S. and we are talking about dealing with this specific problem.

"Finally and not less important, we talk about Iran. I think everyone understands that Iran is in a race against the clock and it takes advantage of the talks to continue promoting its nuclear program. We had just heard from the Iranian state television of a new facility for the production of nuclear material and two new mining sites. I think we understand the implications of dark states with nuclear weapons to world peace. We should not allow Iran to go in there. It should not be allowed to continue to develop its nuclear program, and we must not allow it to continue to do so in defiance of the entire international community."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!