September 15, 2012 FIRST BITE: NETANYAHU ON “MEET THE PRESS” Israeli Prime Minister: “Iran is guided by a leadership with an unbelievable fanaticism”
		Download WEB | HIGH | CART
		| Share

September 15, 2012 -- NBC’s “Meet the Press” has released an excerpt of David Gregory’s network exclusive interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A transcript is below and embeddable video is online here: http://nbcnews.to/QhDpv1.

The extended interview will air Sunday on “Meet the Press;” all content will be available online at www.MeetThePressNBC.com.

# # #

MANDATORY CREDIT: NBC News “Meet the Press”

DAVID GREGORY:
Why can't Iran be contained, just as the Soviet Union was? There are those in your country and in the United States who believe that a containment strategy would actually work.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU:
I think Iran is very different. They put their zealotry above their survival. They have suicide bombers all over the place. I wouldn't rely on their rationality. You know, since the advent of nuclear weapons, you have countries that had access to nuclear weapons who always made a careful calculation of cost and benefit. But Iran is guided by a leadership with an unbelievable fanaticism.

It's the same fanaticism that you see storming your embassies today. You want these fanatics to have nuclear weapons? I mean I heard some people suggest, David, I actually read this in the American press. They said, "Well, you know, if you take action, that's a lot worse than having Iran with nuclear weapons." Some have even said that Iran with nuclear weapons would stabilize the Middle East, stabilize the Middle East. I think the people who say this have set a new standard for human stupidity.

# # #