Haaretz l Zvi Bar'el: Netanyahu should be asked, 'When were you lying? Before, when you said Iran was close to a nuclear bomb, or now, when you dismiss that threat?'

�The high number of foreign companies in the ongoing Iran Petrochemical Forum demonstrates the optimism they have toward prospects of the market and ample opportunities for investment in Iran. First, we intend to analyze our ties with Iran in the pre-sanctions period. Next, we will identify areas of cooperation based on the analysis of the past developments as well as emerging demands. We are considering establishment of local representation offices in order to create job opportunities and import our exclusive technologies to Iran.�

Who is this optimist who spread the news of cooperation with Iran exactly a year ago? Russian President Vladimir Putin? Perhaps French President Francois Hollande? It was Jens Derek, an executive at ThyssenKrupp, in an interview with the Iranian website Shana, which deals with the country�s energy industry.

Yes, it�s the same ThyssenKrupp that is building submarines and ships for Israel. It�s the same company that was probably upset when it heard how excited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was about his ideas for canceling the agreement with Tehran.

Netanyahu already has �five ideas� as to how to cancel this international agreement to which six great powers are signatories, including Germany and the United States, and he will present them to incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, as he said in an interview on the CBS program �60 Minutes.�

Netanyahu is certain that he has an ally in the White House. After all, Trump vowed a year ago that �any commander-in-chief worthy of defending this nation should be prepared to stand up on January 20, 2017 [Inauguration Day] and rip to shreds this catastrophic deal.�

But the incoming president also knows that Boeing has won a tender to sell 80 civilian planes to Iran, for a sum of $16.6 billion, an agreement that was signed this week with great pomp. He also knows that many European companies, including Airbus, are already deeply invested in the Iranian economy, and despite the friendly relations between Trump and the Kremlin, it is doubtful whether he will want to cancel the nuclear agreement and give his friend Vladimir Putin the entire monopoly over Iran�s economic rehabilitation.

Canceling the nuclear agreement means not only a renewal of Iran�s uranium production, but also tremendous international anger at Israel, which will rightly be seen as exerting pressure to bring the Iranian threat back to the forefront after the tremendous effort invested to achieve an agreement that protects the world from it, as least for a decade.

And here is the ludicrous inconsistency: Netanyahu explains in the interview that Iran actually won�t hasten to renew its nuclear program, and also said:��I think Iran didn�t rush to the bomb before there was a deal, because they were afraid of retribution.�

The prime minister should be asked, in the way that prosecutors usually ask the accused, �When were you lying? Before, when you said the Iranians were close to producing a nuclear bomb, or now, when you are dismissing this threat?�

And perhaps he lied both times. The prime minister�s lies no longer shock Israelis. As the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said, �For the sake of the Land of Israel it�s all right to lie.� But how does Netanyahu intend to mobilize the world in less than a decade from now, when the agreement expires? That already is a question for the optimists, who assume Netanyahu will remain in place for another decade.

The problem is that even if he makes do with an abbreviated tenure of 15 years, he will leave behind a legacy that endangers the State of Israel. Nobody will believe the cries of �wolf� any longer, even if there is a real need. No prime minister in Israel will still be able to convince world leaders that Israel can expect any serious danger � and not only from Iran.

The Iranian lie turns Netanyahu into the most dangerous man for the country�s security. But as befits a great leader, if he is able to bring about the cancellation of the nuclear agreement, he will become the most dangerous man in the world. A considerable achievement for someone who buys submarines from a company that is considering investment options in Iran.