Iran-US relationship angers Israel

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that Israel was "upset and angry" with signs of an emerging new relationship between the Islamic republic and the West. His statement on Wednesday comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a UN summit that his country was ready to act alone to halt Iran's alleged efforts to build a nuclear bomb. "We don't expect anything else from the Zionist regime," Rouhani told reporters after a cabinet meeting. Israel is "upset and angry because it sees that its blunted sword is being replaced with logic as the governing force in the world, and because the Iranian nation's message of peace is being heard better," the moderate cleric said. Iran's new president was referring to his outreach last week on a visit to the UN General Assembly in New York, where he offered constructive dialogue with the West in a bid to ease tensions.

 In his UN speech, Rouhani said Iran would never seek a nuclear weapon and was ready to negotiate with world powers on ending a decade-long showdown over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. His charm offensive culminated in a landmark 15-minute phone call with US President Barack Obama. But Netanyahu told the same UN forum that a sanctions regime hurting Iran's economy must be strengthened as the Tehran regime was hell-bent on building a nuclear bomb. "Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone," he said. Iran's armed forces chief of staff Hassan Firouzabadi on Wednesday rejected the Israeli threat of military action as an "act of desperation" by a "warmonger".

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/10/rouhani-iran-us-relationship-angers-israel-2013102185832931333.html