Before the intriguing round of talks held between the P5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany) and Iranian representatives in Geneva on Oct. 15 and 16, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cleared his crowded agenda for a series of interviews with the leading media of the three European member countries of the forum. He granted interviews to newspapers from Germany (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), France (Le Monde) and the United Kingdom (Financial Times) and to three TV networks from these countries: ARD TV, France 24 and Sky.

An announcement published by his bureau on Oct. 10 included selected quotes from those interviews with the purpose of pressuring the three Western European governments to continue the sanctions against Iran and even escalate them. “Be strict, be strong,” Netanyahu exhorted, as he warned them against what has been called “Iran’s charm offensive.” He noted that the regime in Tehran has violated all the UN Security Council resolutions with regard to halting uranium enrichment, and now asks for easing of sanctions for “tactical, cosmetic concessions.”

When it comes to the Iranian nuclear program, the sky is the limit with regard to the statuses and positions of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and even the European Union. Suddenly, the European continent is relevant and courted. ­Yet, less than two years ago, in December 2011, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that these three countries — together with Portugal — “lost their credibility and made themselves irrelevant.”

This happened on the heels of a statement that same month by their ambassadors at the United Nations condemning the construction in the settlements and the “price tag” phenomenon in the territories of Judea and Samaria. The Foreign Ministry warned that “interfering with Israel’s domestic affair” will harm Europe’s position (the West Bank is not part of the state of Israel’s sovereign territory).