Netanyahu has long accused Iran of developing a nuclear weapon and went on a global campaign against the Obama deal. He painted the nuclear program as an existential threat to Israel and the world, and said the agreement was too weak to contain it. Israel remains the Mideast’s only nuclear-armed state, an advantage it would like to keep.

Iran has been expanding its naval fleet in recent years amid tensions with the United States and Israel, though the Islamic Republic is currently engaged in negotiations with Washington.