Israeli PM warns of nuclear arms race in Mideast

JERUSALEM, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East if the nuclear deal to limit Iran's nuclear program would not be changed or revoked.

During remarks at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said his discussions with United States President Donald Trump and other officials in Washington last week focused mainly on Iran.

"I said that the nuclear agreement with Iran contains within it many dangers for the world, including the special danger of the nuclearization of the Middle East," Netanyahu said, according to a statement released on his behalf.

"Many countries in the Middle East are saying that they are also allowed to enrich uranium if Iran is allowed to do so; therefore, the way to prevent this danger, the nuclearization of the Middle East, is to either thoroughly correct the agreement or abrogate it," he said.

Netanyahu reportedly referred to Saudi Arabia, which is in talks to buy nuclear reactors from the United States.

"Moreover, I remind you that Iran declares, on an almost daily basis, its intention to wipe out the State of Israel. It is hardly worth saying that we will not allow this, to put it mildly," he added.

Netanyahu has been a vocal opponent of the nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and the six world powers in order to limit the Islamic republic's nuclear plan and prevent it from achieving atomic weapons.

In January, Trump announced that he will waive sanctions against Iran and extend the nuclear deal after he disavowed the deal three months earlier.

Israel is widely believed to hold hundreds of nuclear warheads, which the country has never officially acknowledged to exist. Enditem