Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the recent easing of sanctions on Iran has not only failed to moderate its policies, but is fuelling its aggression, according to a statement by the prime minister's office.

"What is happening here is that the international community is reducing the sanctions, and Iran is increasing its aggression," Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, adding that "the Iranian foreign minister recently met with the head of Islamic Jihad. Iran continues to supply terrorist organizations with deadly weapons, continues aiding the massacre in Syria, and is sending warships to the Atlantic Ocean."

These remarks came following reports that Iranian warships were sailing toward US maritime borders on Saturday, which "was meant to counter US naval presence in the Persian Gulf," Iranian Navy chief R.-Adm. Habibollah Sayyari was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

Netanyahu has vocally protested the easing of economic sanctions while Iran and the P5+1 world powers are negotiating a deal on the Iran's long-disputed nuclear program, which Israel believes is geared to produce atomic bombs.

On the other side, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a speech Saturday in which he criticized Washington's " controlling and meddlesome" policy toward his country.