JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday said that an emerging deal to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers would lead to a “more violent, more volatile Middle East.”
Western leaders have signaled that a deal with Iran is possible in a matter of days. World powers have spent the last 10 months negotiating with Iran in Vienna to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement, which collapsed after the Trump administration unilaterally abandoned the accord in 2018.
The initial deal restricted Iran’s nuclear development in exchange for sanctions relief, but Israel opposed the agreement, arguing that it was too weak and did not adequately address Iran’s long-range missiles and support for terror organizations in the region.
Bennet said Iran has used the interim period since the deal’s collapse to expand its nuclear capabilities, including the production of highly-enriched uranium needed for a nuclear weapon. Iran denies that it seeks to develop a nuclear bomb.
The 10-year restrictions on uranium enrichment from the original deal are set to expire in two and a half years, Bennett noted.
“The single biggest problem with this deal is that in two and a half years, which is right around the corner, Iran will be able to develop, install and operate advanced centrifuges. Imagine football stadiums of advanced centrifuges spinning – allowed by this agreement,” Bennett said during a speech to Jewish-American leaders.
He also said immediately lifting sanctions on Iran would give it access to funds it will use to target Israel.
“In the meantime, as an advance payment, Iran gets billions of dollars in frozen assets and access to the booming energy market. Much of this money will be funneled towards attacking Israel,” he continued.
While Bennett said Israel is not automatically opposed to any deal with Iran, it is “deeply troubled” by what it sees taking shape from the negotiations in Vienna.
Bennett laid out three key issues he believes world leaders must address:
“1. The agreement leaves Iran with a fast track to military-grade enrichment. And in the time until it sunsets, they won’t even have to destroy all those centrifuges they developed over the past few years.
2. The Iranian regime is insisting on closing the open files of the IAEA – these are ‘hot investigations’ pertaining to possible military dimensions. Or in simple English: Iran has hidden and is still hiding nuclear-weapon related materials. It has been caught red-handed, and Iran is demanding that the inspectors that caught them will pretend to forget what they saw.
3. The agreement will pour money, billions of dollars, into the Iranian terror machine – more UAVs, more attacks on ships, more rockets on Israel and our allies through its proxies,” he said.
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Furthermore, Bennett said Tehran is insisting that world leaders stop labeling its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terror organization.
Israel has vowed to never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told participants at the annual Munich Security Conference that “all elements for a conclusion of the negotiations are on the table.”
But Iranian media reported that lawmakers are urging President Ebrahim Raisi to obtain guarantees from world powers that they won’t withdraw from the Iran deal after it is renegotiated.
Iran’s foreign minister says “the ball” is now in Western countries’ court to meet Iranian demands.
The White House said last week that it wants a nuclear deal “that addresses the core concerns of all sides,” but Iran must first come back into compliance with the accord.
Iran is enriching uranium up to 60% purity — a short technical step from the 90% needed to make an atomic bomb. It is also spinning advanced centrifuges that are not permitted under the deal.
The White House said Iran’s “ongoing nuclear advances will make it impossible for us to return” to the agreement.
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