Iran has begun deploying missiles in Yemen in order to strike Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.

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Speaking with visiting U.S. Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Netanyahu congratulated President Donald Trump for the successful operation to kill ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and said that Israel is "still in the midst of the war against terror – not only against extreme Sunnis led by ISIS but also against extreme Shi'ites led by Iran and its Mideast proxies."

According to Netanyahu, "Iran is already aspiring to obtain precision weapons to hit every target in the Middle East… they manufacture them in Iran and want to deploy them in Iraq and in Syria, and turn the 130,000-rocket arsenal in Lebanon into precision munitions. They aspire to do that, and they have already begun deploying them in Yemen in order to strike Israel from there as well."

Netanyahu seemed to be alluding to warnings he has made over the past few days regarding the possibility of a renewed flare-up between Tehran and Jerusalem.

Open gallery view Distance from Iranian missile sites Credit:

During the meeting, Mnuchin pledged to increase economic sanctions against Iran. He said that the administration's "maximum pressure campaign" is halting Iranian aggression.

Netanyahu called on Washington to impose additional sanctions to stop what he called Iran's "plunge for everything" in the Middle East.

Mnuchin is heading a delegation to the Middle East and India to discuss economic ties and counterterrorism initiatives. He is joined by Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who met with Netanyahu and his key rival, Kahol Lavan party leader Benny Gantz.

Mnuchin said that American sanctions aim to force Iran to stop "their bad activities and exporting terrorism, looking to create nuclear capabilities, and missiles."

Open gallery view

"We see Iran as the greatest threat to peace, stability, our security and the security of many others," Netanyahu said. "They have fired into Saudi Arabia, they obstructed international shipping lanes, they attacked and killed Americans over the past decade in Afghanistan and in other places." Netanyahu also praised the economic sanctions that the U.S. has slapped on Tehran.

The Associated Press contributed to this report