Israel PM says troops to stay in south Lebanon 'as long as necessary'

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon "as long as necessary," while also vowing to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. "We will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect the cherished residents of the north and all the citizens of Israel... Nothing will alter that commitment," Netanyahu said. "And with regard to Iran: whatever political developments may unfold, I will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. As long as I serve as prime minister of Israel, that will not happen." Later on Sunday, Netanyahu, speaking at a public event, reiterated that the Middle East war had achieved Israel's key goal of preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon. "We prevented Iran from carrying out a plan to annihilate us and today they would have had an atomic bomb to do so," he said. "We prevented that from happening. We removed the existential danger. Had we not acted... Iran would have had atomic bombs and let me tell you something, they would have used them. "That'Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times