The Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennet has warned that the Islamic Republic intends to build nuclear weapons, and poses grave danger to the Middle East.

Speaking in a video conference with the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Bennett questioned the purpose of the Vienna talks to revive Iran’s nuclear deal with the world, asking that “why it makes sense for the free world to sign a deal that would give them money, and at the same time allow them to continue”.

He described the Islamic Republic as an “octopus” of terror and instability with its head in Tehran and arms across the Middle East.

He said lifting Iran sanctions would empower Tehran’s proxies, bringing “terror on steroids… Everything we're seeing will be doubled and tripled because they'll be much stronger”.

Bennet added that Iran has an anti-Midas touch, meaning that “every country they get involved with fails”, mentioning Lebanon, Syria and Yemen as examples.

He referred to the Iranian nuclear archive that the Mossad smuggled into out, disclosed in 2018, as evidence saying that “these guys are trying to develop a nuclear weapon.”

“Why would anyone legitimize their right to enrich uranium at a massive capacity? They are now enriching at 60-percent grade, in these huge factories. Why are they doing it? You don’t need 60-percent [enriched] uranium for anything but a nuclear weapon”, Bennett said.