Israel eyes ‘every scenario’ on Iran deal
Eyeing a potential revival of an international deal to set controls on Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli officials say they are preparing for “every scenario”.
PM Yair Lapid. (Yuval Penn/GPO)
Israeli governments of all stripes have long been sceptical of the deal, under which Iran agrees to set aside attempts at building nuclear weapons in exchange for assistance with civilian nuclear projects.
The government says a sunset on the program means Iran will just bide its time until it can return to weapons building and that the deal does not include strict enough monitoring to ensure Iranian compliance.
“We are going to be prepared to take steps to protect Israel’s security,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Sunday.
“The Americans understand this, the world understands this and Israeli society has to know this as well.”
The initial deal was struck in 2015 but fell apart a few years later during the US presidency of Donald Trump, who pulled out of the deal.
European Union negotiators have said a new version of the deal has been worked out and is only awaiting a yes or no from both sides.
However, talks are ongoing and Iran’s government has apparently requested changes to the deal.
Lapid on Sunday again called it a “bad deal”.
Israel considers the possibility of Iran developing nuclear weapons to be an existential threat and has hinted that it might consider attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Israeli news agency Ynet reported on Sunday that the head of the Mossad foreign intelligence service is set for a trip to the US where he plans to deliver further arguments against the deal to the Senate’s intelligence committee.
Mossad boss David Barnea has, in the past, accused the US of rushing into a deal “that is a complete lie”.
AAP
the us government is so stupid Iran will never stop doing what they want to do. You can’t tell a fascist government what todo.they are all about total control of the middle east. Hey, will never stop wanting to obliterate Israel off the map.