German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday she condemns a tweet from Iran’s top leader saying that Israel is a “cancerous tumor” that needs to be removed and pledged to increase pressure on Tehran to scale back its military influence in the region, AP reported.

Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Merkel said Israel’s security was a top priority for Germany.

The two leaders were asked about a tweet Sunday from the account of Iran’s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying his country’s “stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken. #Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen.”

Merkel said “we sharply condemn what the Iranian leadership said,” but at the same time reiterated her view that the nuclear agreement was the best way to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons.

“We are not in agreement on all questions, but we are friends, we are partners,” Merkel said of the visiting Israeli leader.