Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: PMO.

Israel must ask itself what will happen if the U.S. fails to take action to stop Iran’s nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel Hayom in an interview for Rosh Hashanah.

In the interview, Netanyahu addressed recent assessments by top defense officials, who suggested that there is still time before action against Iran becomes necessary. “I hear all those people who say that we should wait until the very last minute. But what if the U.S. doesn’t intervene? That is a question we have to ask,” he said.

Netanyahu also dismissed allegations that his insistence on red lines, beyond which the U.S. would commit to taking military action against Iran, was impacting the presidential race currently underway in the U.S., saying, “This is nonsense because the issue that is guiding me is not the U.S. elections, but the centrifuges in Iran, and what can I do if the centrifuges in Iran are inconsiderate of the U.S. political timetable? If the Iranians were to hit the ‘pause’ button and halt their uranium enrichment and bomb preparation until after the elections, I would be able to wait.”

In addition, the prime minister explained that the gaps between Washington’s and Jerusalem’s stances on the Iranian issue revolve “not on a question of dates, but rather on a question of process.” Referring to homefront preparedness, Netanyahu said, “You can protect the country from missiles, in one way or another. But there is no protection against atomic bombs. The only way to protect against this is to prevent the creation of such a reality by the enemy, and of course, make it clear to anyone who would ever consider attacking Israel with weapons of mass destruction—do it at your own peril.”