Washington, July 13 (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed US President Donald Trump’s effort to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran and said Israel could gradually reduce US military assistance to zero as it becomes increasingly capable of defending itself.

Netanyahu said Trump wanted to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement, particularly on Iran’s nuclear programme. But he added that the US President remained prepared to use military force if Tehran violated its commitments.

“I think President Trump wants to exhaust the possibility of achieving an agreement, especially on the nuclear issue, through negotiations,” Netanyahu told NBC News’ Meet the Press.

“But he is obviously not shy of using force when the Iranians break every commitment they make, and usually a few hours or a few minutes after they make it. So I think we should let the President have his opportunity.”

Trump said in a separate interview on the programme that Iran had agreed to what he called “a perfect deal” before launching a drone at a ship.

“They agreed to a deal yesterday, a perfect deal for us. No nuclear, no this, no that, no nothing. They gave up everything,” Trump said.

“And then after that, they left the room. And then within an hour, they launched a drone at a ship.”

Trump confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz remained open and said the US had carried out fresh strikes against Iran overnight.

Netanyahu said Israel was grateful for its military partnership with the United States. He argued that joint operations had pushed back what he described as an immediate threat from Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes.

“Israel is keenly grateful for the fact that America joined- and Israel joined forces to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, not only against us, but against the entire West, and against the United States,” he said.

Netanyahu also said Israel had reached a stage where it could begin reducing US military assistance.

“We’ve come of age, and we’re able to draw them down to zero,” he said while discussing US-Israel agreements on military support reached during the Clinton, Obama and Trump presidencies.

Netanyahu recalled that the late Senator Lindsey Graham had argued for more US support for Israeli ballistic missile defence, even when the Israeli leader sought a smaller amount.

“He would outbid the Prime Minister of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister said Graham believed that military assistance for Israel also served American security interests. Graham, who died on Saturday after a sudden illness, was one of Israel’s strongest supporters in the US Senate.

--IANS

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