By attacking Iran, Israel is protecting Barcelona - former Israeli prime minister 0 7

Bennett said that the U.S. and Israel are "doing the hard work, as we are used to," fighting what he described as a fundamentalist, radical Islamist nuclear threat.

"If we had not taken action, Europe would be under a terrible threat of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons," he said in an interview with Euronews. "We are fighting your war, we expect your support."

When asked about specific countries, he declined to comment but suggested that Israel is protecting "Madrid and Barcelona" by attacking Iran, referring to Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez became the first European leader to condemn the U.S.-Israeli war as a violation of international law, calling the attack illegal.

Sanchez is also running an active political campaign under the slogan "No to War."

Bennett called the actions of the Spanish government "simply appalling, incredibly disappointing."

At a summit held in Brussels last week, European leaders called for "de-escalation, maximum restraint, protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and full compliance with international law by all parties involved," including the UN Charter.

Bennett responded that Israel is waging the most "just of wars," and said that the military campaign is justified because "the looming threat cannot be allowed to grow too large."

The immediacy of the threat was questioned.

Last week, Joe Kent, a senior U.S. intelligence official appointed by President Donald Trump, resigned in protest against the war.

He claimed that Iran "does not pose an imminent threat" to the U.S., and in his letter stated that the Trump administration was pressured by Israel and what he called "its powerful American lobby."

Bennett called Kent "a nobody, of no significance... He will go into the dustbin of history." The former prime minister emphasized the significance of the threat posed by Iran as requiring immediate action.

"If you allow a threat to grow and grow, at some point it becomes so large that you can no longer manage the threat. Like in the case of North Korea, where the world did nothing, and now no one can take care of and eliminate that nuclear weapon. Like Hitler," he said.

When asked about the timeline of the war and its objectives, Bennett said that Israel needs time.

His comments contrast with President Trump's view, who on Monday stated that he would give Iran a five-day ultimatum, extending the previous deadline, for negotiations and a deal.

Without specifying, Trump said that the U.S. is negotiating with a high-ranking official in Iran, who is believed to be the chairman of the Iranian parliament, and said that talks are ongoing.

Tehran denies the existence of negotiations in state media.

When asked if Israel is working according to Trump's timeline and whether it would agree to a deal on the same terms as the U.S. president, Bennett said, "It depends on the circumstances."

"Our goal is to completely eliminate the nuclear program and ensure that they never obtain nuclear weapons. The same goes for ballistic missiles and the elimination of proxy terrorists. We need to see what the deal will be," he said in an interview with Euronews.