Benjamin Netanyahu Warns of Iran ‘Honey’ Trap

Prompted by growing alarm over the prospect of rapprochement between Iran and the West, the Israeli prime minister will warn that Mr Rouhani’s conciliatory tone conceals the same hostile intent voiced explicitly by the combative Mr Ahmadinejad when he addresses the UN general assembly on October 1.

He will also warn the West to avoid being caught in a honey trap laid by Mr Rouhani, who was elected in June on a promise to end Iran’s international isolation. “This is not honey, this is venom,” the prime minister will say, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, which claimed to have seen a preview of his planned delivery.

Israeli officials have been trailing excerpts from Mr Netanyahu’s speech more than a week in advance in a desperate effort to counteract the effects of Mr Rouhani’s arrival in New York, where he is expected to call for a fresh diplomatic engagement in his own UN speech today.

By contrast, the Israeli leader will respond to Iranian overtures seeking a resolution to the impasse over its nuclear programme by warning that no deal is better than a bad agreement. He will remind diplomats that a deal was struck in 2005 over North Korea’s nuclear activities only for the Communist regime to test a bomb a year later.

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