Benjamin Netanyahu: Oh, well, that’s true. I would say- I will say this. The only good thing I can say about the deal with Iran is that it brought the Arab states and Israel closer together. …
It’s the old proverb: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. On a trip to the desert town of Be’er Sheva, he told us there’s been a tectonic shift: it’s been reported that Israel and the Arab world are sharing intelligence.
Benjamin Netanyahu: All I can tell you is that Israel’s position in the Arab world has changed because they no longer see Israel as their enemy, but as their ally, in their indispensable battle against the forces of militant Islam, either those led by Iran, the Shiites, or– and those led by Daesh — by ISIS, the militant Sunnis.
Lesley Stahl: We hear that you have dramatically improved your relationship with Egypt. Is that correct?
Benjamin Netanyahu: Yes.
Lesley Stahl: Jordan?
Benjamin Netanyahu: Yes.
Lesley Stahl: Saudi Arabia?
Benjamin Netanyahu: No comment.
Lesley Stahl: I have to ask you, because it’s the most fascinating of all: Israel and Saudi Arabia. Are you actually developing an anti-Iran alliance in the Middle East?
Benjamin Netanyahu: Doesn’t have to be developed. It’s there anyway.
Israel is developing a whole skein of new alliances, in some cases with countries that have been challenging the U.S. around the world like Russia which has placed its troops in Syria, Israel’s next door neighbor.
Lesley Stahl: How would you describe your relationship with Russia right now?
Benjamin Netanyahu: It’s amicable. But the minute Mr. Putin decided to put his military forces in Syria, I went to see him. And I said, “Look, here’s what I’m doing. I’m not intervening in Syria. But at the same time, if Syria tries to intervene with us, if Iran tries to use Syria to attack us, we’ll stop it.
Lesley Stahl: You’re telling Mr. Putin that you will attack if you’re attacked?
Benjamin Netanyahu: I said, “We should avoid this.” And he said “I agree.” So we coordinated between our militaries because no one wants an inadvertent Israeli-Russian clash.
Lesley Stahl: You have a friendship with Mr. Putin, and a friendship with China. You seem to be inching toward an anti-American bloc.
Benjamin Netanyahu: God, no. Let me tell you something —
Lesley Stahl: Well, talk about that ‘cause I think there’s an impression of that.
Benjamin Netanyahu: That’s a false impression. First of all, there is, there is an irreplaceable ally. It’s called the United States of America.
Lesley Stahl: Yeah, but here you are making friends with our adversaries —
Benjamin Netanyahu: So no. You have relations with Russia and you have relations with China. We can have relations, economic relations, trade relations with other countries as you do. Why not?