World's stance ensures 'no chance' Iran will triumph

JPOST -- Speaking with Channel 2 news, Peres says Syria's Assad is a "war criminal" and there is no worse alternative; president says he won't seek term extension after his ends in two years.

The world's stance against Iran's nuclear program would make it impossible for Iran to triumph on the issue, President Shimon Peres said in a Thursday interview with Channel 10.

"There is no chance Iran will triumph over the world, and there is every chance the world will triumph over Iran," Peres said, asking rhetorically whether Iran or the world was under greater pressure.

Asked whether he could understand Iran's desire to develop nuclear capabilities, Peres replied, "I can understand it, but I cannot justify it."

Speaking with Channel 2 news in a separate interview, Peres spoke about the conflict in Syria, and the end of his terms.

Syrian President Bashar Assad is a war criminal, Peres said flatly.

Responding to a regarding question whether he thought an alternative government to the Assad regime could be worse for Israel, the president responded: "Assad is the worst there is."

"If you kill even one child," you cannot be the leader of your country, he said.

"[Assad] is a liar, and he won't stop," said Peres, adding there is no other choice except for the Syrian president - who has fought a 13-month battle against opposition activists in a conflict that has killed more than 9,000 people according to the UN - to step down.

Talking about his own presidency, Peres said he will be happy to end his term as president after 10 years, and will not take the legal steps to allowing an extension to his tenure.

Peres said his service to the state will not end after the end of his presidency in two years.

Speaking affably with Channel 2 news' Yonit Levy, the president said he has reached a point in his career when his ideas and goals are met with great encouragement.

"When I was prime minister, I rarely heard the word 'yes,'" he mused. "Now, I rarely hear the word no."