Netanyahu: No nuclear agreement with Iran will be binding on Israel
The Israeli Prime Minister's statement came as reports confirmed that the U.S. and Iran are in direct contact following a breakdown of nuclear negotiations last year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel isn’t bound by any agreement that might be reached with Iran on its nuclear programme.
“Our position is clear: No agreement with Iran will be binding on Israel, which will continue to do everything to defend itself. Our opposition to a return to the original agreement, I think it is working, but there are still differences of outlook and we do not hide them, also about smaller agreements. We enunciate our policy clearly both openly and in closed rooms,” Netanyahu said in a session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee on Tuesday.
Netanyahu said that Israel’s economic and military strength is challenged by the rise of Iran in the Middle East, “which has completely replaced the Arab world in hostility to Israel and aspires to our destruction, and this is Iran.”
“Over 90% of our security problems stem from Iran and its proxies, and our policy is aimed at increasing the circle of peace, to stop Iran and its proxies,” he said.
His comments came after reports in Israeli and American media indicated that an interim nuclear agreement between the U.S. and Iran was currently being negotiated in secret.
Haaretz cited Israeli defence officials saying that an interim deal could be reached within weeks after “major progress” had been made. The officials said that Iran will be asked to stop enriching uranium at high level in return for gradual sanction relief. The first step would be to release £16 billion of Iranian assets currently frozen in South Korea, Iraq, and at the International Monetary Fund.
The American media Axios also reported that talks had been held, adding that U.S. and Iranian officials met in Oman in May.
According to Axios, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kan was part of the Iranian delegation to Oman, where White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk also participated.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani later confirmed Axios’ report, thanking Oman for facilitating the nuclear talks, but said that Tehran considers the “other things that are said as media speculations. We would not confirm anything as negotiation for an interim deal.”
On Tuesday, Reuters cited a U.S. official who said: “There are no talks about an interim deal.”
The official, however, confirmed that the U.S. and Iran are indeed in touch, saying that Washington had made clear to Tehran “what escalatory steps they needed to avoid to prevent a crisis and what de-escalatory steps they could take to create a more positive context.”
The direct contact between the U.S. and Iran comes after intense negotiations came to a halt last year, causing the Islamic Republic to rapidly advance its program.
Netanyahu has publicly criticised the Biden administration’s efforts to reach a new deal with Iran, arguing that the Islamic Republic cannot be trusted.
Instead, Netanyahu believes that a credible military threat from the U.S., Israel and other Western nations, as well as heavy sanctions, will eventually force Iran to give up its nuclear programme. This strategy, however, has not proven successful so far.
Many Israeli experts and former IDF chiefs believe that the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the Western powers was the best way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, despite the deal failing to address certain concerns for Israel.
The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to leave the nuclear deal worsened the situation, they believe.
Israel has since then repeatedly threatened with striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying it will do everything in its power to stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
