Jerusalem, May 22 (efe-epa).- The President of the United States began his visit to Israel on Monday by warning of the threat that Iran could pose if it were to develop nuclear weapons.
Donald Trump was on the second stop of his first international tour, having arrived from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, aboard Air Force One.
“Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, standing beside Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
The president reinforced the message when he went on to have a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump also labeled the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the Group 5 + 1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) as a mistake.
“It was a terrible, terrible thing for the United States to enter that deal and, believe me, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, that I can tell you,” Trump said to Netanyahu, who shook his hand at that point.
Trump warned of Iran’s escalating presence in the region.
“No matter where we go we see the signs of Iran in the Middle East,” Trump said.
The American president also denied passing sensitive Israeli intelligence information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a recent meeting in the White House’s Oval Office.
“Just so you understand, I never mentioned the name or the word Israel,” Trump said while responding to journalists’ questions, adding, “so you have another story wrong.”