Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the United States was pursuing the “correct policy” vis-a-vis Iran, just hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Tehran that Washington would impose “the strongest sanctions in history” on the Islamic Republic if it failed to change its foreign policy and meet a list of demands.

Addressing the Heritage Foundation, a conservative thinktank in Washington, the former head of the CIA issued 12 demands he said Iran must meet if it wanted a new nuclear treaty with the US. Among them that Iran stop all uranium enrichment, allow unqualified access to all nuclear sites in the country, reveal in full its past work on nuclear weapons, stop launches of ballistic missiles,  pull all forces under its control from Syria, and end support for  Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as for Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Netanyahu responded to Pompeo’s remarks while giving a diplomatic reception for Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes shortly after his guest officially opened his country’s embassy in Jerusalem, following suit on the US and Guatemala.

“We believe it’s the only policy that can ultimately guarantee the security of the Middle East and we call on other countries to follow America’s lead,” Netanyahu said.