LAUSANNE - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday harshly criticized the American government and the other world powers currently negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program, telling ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting that the "Iran-Lausanne-Yemen axis" was a danger to humanity that must be stopped.

As the talks entered their fifth day in Lausanne, Switzerland, Netanyahu told his cabinet: "I am deeply troubled by the emerging agreement with Iran in the nuclear talks," said Netanyahu during a start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday. "The agreement confirms all of our fears and even worse."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif opened the day with their eighth meeting in four days.

Netanyahu met on Sunday morning at his office in Jerusalem with U.S. Senate majority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, and spoke over the weekend with Senate minority leader Harry Reid, who announced that he was stepping down from his position.

In what sounded like a barb aimed at the White House, Netanyahu stated that he heard from both veteran senators about "strong and uncompromising support for Israel." Later this week, House Speaker John Boehner is expected to arrive in Jerusalem for a meeting with Netanyahu.

The prime minister said that the developing nuclear deal also bears the danger of what he called "Iran's conquest of the Middle East."

Referring to the Iran-allied Houthi militia's recent takeover of large parts of Yemen, Netanyahu said: "Iran is using proxies to try and take over the strategic straits of Bab el-Mandab, which could alter the balance of world seafaring and oil supply. Iran is enacting a pincer strategy from north and south to take over the entire Middle East. The Iran-Lausanne-Yemen axis is extremely dangerous to humanity and must be stopped."

At the same time Netanyahu made his comments, the negotiations between Iran and the six world powers continued at the Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne. After an hour-long meeting on Sunday morning between Kerry and Zarif, the two will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.



