On an official visit to Moscow, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid warned Sept. 9 against Iran exporting terror across the region and maintaining a military presence in Syria. “We all aspire to bring security and stability in our region and to the world. Unfortunately, there won't be stability in Syria, or in the wider Middle East, while there is an Iranian presence. Iran is the world's number-one exporter of terror. It threatens us all. Israel will not sit quietly by while Iran builds terror bases on our northern border. Or while Iran supplies advanced weapons to terror organizations. Weapons intended to be used against us,” noted Lapid after his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Lapid then said that he had discussed with Lavrov the Iranian nuclear program and the danger it poses to the world. “The two [International Atomic Energy Agency] reports are damning. They include serious violations. Fraud, deception and outright lies. The picture is clear and very worrying. A rapidly advancing nuclear program without any effective supervision."

He went on, "The message to Iran must be loud and it must be clear. Iran's march towards a nuclear weapon is not only an Israeli problem. It's a problem for the entire world. A nuclear Iran will lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. And the last thing any of us want, is to see nuclear weapons fall into the wrong hands. The world needs to stop Iran from getting a nuclear capability, no matter the price. If the world doesn't do it, Israel reserves the right to act."

He concluded, "Israel will not allow Iran to become a nuclear state. Or even a nuclear threshold state.”