Netanyahu congratulates Trump on North Korea summit

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated US President Donald Trump after his summit Tuesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said Washington's policy on Iran was also succeeding.

"I commend US President Donald Trump on the historic summit in Singapore," Netanyahu said in a statement.

"This is an important step in the effort to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons."

The Israeli leader said Trump had "also taken a strong stand against Iran's efforts to arm itself with nuclear weapons and against its aggression in the Middle East.

"This is already affecting the Iranian economy," he added.

The United States withdrew last month from the Iran nuclear deal reached between world powers and the Islamic republic in 2015.

The other parties to the deal -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- have vowed to stay in the accord, but appear powerless to stop their companies pulling out of Iran for fear of US penalties.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian uses only, but its opponents, notably the US and Israel, accuse it of seeking to build an atomic bomb.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly said that Iran is complying with the accord.