Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said funding for Iran could lead to "terror on steroids" on Tuesday, in an apparent warning against world powers easing sanctions against Tehran as they seek a new nuclear deal.
World powers have been negotiating with Iran on a return to the 2015 nuclear deal after then president Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018.
After eight rounds of talks the thorniest points remain the speed and scope of lifting sanctions on Tehran, including Iran's demand for a U.S. guarantee of no further punitive steps, and how and when to restore curbs on Iran's atomic work.
"The last thing you want to do... is pour tens of billions of dollars into this apparatus. Because what will you get? Terror on steroids," Bennett said in a video address to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Israel has repeatedly said it would not be bound by any agreement reached in the nuclear talks with Iran and sees itself free to act against the threat to its security from the Islamic Republic.
Bennett in his speech also said that around half of global cyber defense investment in past few years has been in Israel, adding that as more work is done remotely, companies will be increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks.
"This means we need good cyber defense and Israel has massively invested in cyber defense technologies," Bennett said.
"I believe roughly half or almost half of the global investments in cyber companies over the past few years has been in Israel. So Israel has become a powerhouse in cyber defense. I see a bunch of opportunities and we intend to seize them."