ISRAEL’S leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that an “aggressive and confrontational speech” by Iran’s supreme leader shows that any expectations a nuclear deal would soften the militancy of the Islamic Republic were misguided.

On Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the agreement won’t change Iran’s approach to the United States and it would continue supporting the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militant groups.

Netanyahu said yesterday that Iran doesn’t “even try to hide the fact” that it will use a looming lifting of sanctions to further arm regional militant groups and to oppose American and Israeli interests around the Middle East.

The Israeli leader has been among the fiercest critics of the nuclear agreement reached with Iran last week.