Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was born on October 21, 1949 in Tel Aviv, Israel.He is an Israeli politician and spoke today at the UN General Assembly about a "nuclear threat" against Iran before his office announced that his words were being withdrawn and that it was a lapsus.

He also welcomed the fact that Israel and Saudi Arabia are close to a historic peace, a rapprochement that does not appeal to Tehran.

Israel: We have the right to defend ourselves from the Iranian threat

During his speech at the UN General Assembly, the Israeli prime minister again criticized Iran and said: "As long as I am the prime minister of Israel, I will do everything that is in my power to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon."

"Above all, Iran must face a nuclear threat that can be trusted," he said.

But his office quickly withdrew those words. "The text of the speech mentioned the need for a military threat to be trusted to deter Iran's nuclear program, not a nuclear threat," Netanyahu's office said, adding that it was a mistake in reading the speech and that the prime minister was sticking to the original text of his speech.

"I imagine Netanyahu made a mistake in delivering the speech," Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, told AFP. He recalled that Netanyahu is not the first leader to allow lapsus when delivering a speech from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly.

"The fact that Israel has its own nuclear deterrence is no secret. But I don't think Netanyahu intended to advertise Israeli atomic bombs at the United Nations."

Israel has never confirmed or denied its possession of nuclear weapons. It is believed to possess 90 nuclear warheads, according to the latest estimates from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

On the rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu said such a peace would greatly contribute to ending the Israeli-Arab conflict, encourage other Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel, increase opportunities for peace with the Palestinians.

"But I think we should not give the Palestinians veto power over new peace treaties with Arab countries," he said. "The Palestinians could benefit greatly from a wider peace. They must participate in this process," he added, BTA reported.

Earlier this week, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi criticized the possible finalization of the process of rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, calling it a "stab in the back of the Palestinians."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned from the UN rostrum that there would be no peace in the Middle East without taking into account the legitimate rights of his people, that is, to implement the two-state solution.

Benjamin Netanyahu