Acting Prime Minister Yair Lapid confirmed on Sunday that Israel has been engaged in a multi-faceted “diplomatic struggle” for more than a year to prevent the re-signing of the nuclear deal with Iran.
He noted that the head of the National Security Agency returned from Washington over the weekend and the Secretary of Defense is now there, where a concerted effort is being made to ensure that Americans and Europeans are aware of the risks involved. . to this agreement.”
Lapid’s statements were made in a press conference attended by Israeli journalists.
The prime minister believes that “this agreement is not good. It was not good when it was signed in 2015, and the risks associated with it are much greater today (…) Iran is in a different technological place, and the Israeli government, with any agreement, The opinion does not disagree with its details.
He added: “Such an agreement can be reached if a credible military threat is put on the table. If the Iranians see that their inconsistency and deception will pay a heavy price. (Barack) Obama is deploying trench-piercing bomb capabilities and The Iranians understood this and signed the agreement. Our diplomatic mission from day one is to fight this agreement with all our might, but not to damage our strategic relationship with the United States.
Israel’s interim prime minister stressed that “we cannot reach the situation we were in in 2015”.
He added: We told the American side about the latest proposal that was put on the table by the European Union, that this is not what President Biden wants, this is not what he talked about during his trip to Israel, and this is not what who signed the Jerusalem Declaration.
In parallel, Lapid continued: We announced to the Americans that Israel will not depend on the decisions of Iran or the great powers, as he wrote in the Jerusalem statement, we have the right to defend ourselves. “If an agreement is signed, it does not bind us, we are not a party to it, it does not limit our activities.”
Confirming that the leaders of the Israeli army and Mossad (intelligence) have ordered us to be prepared to deal with any scenario, Lapid added: “We will be ready to act to protect Israel’s security, and the American side understands this.” The world understands this and the Israeli society must also know this.”
And on Friday, the White House said that U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz about the U.S. commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and countering its proxy threats in the region. .
According to Al-Hura reporter, Gantz, for his part, said that he has informed the American National Security Advisor about Israel’s opposition to the nuclear agreement with Iran in the format presented.
He added: I emphasized to the American National Security Advisor that there are important elements that must be observed so that Iran cannot progress towards nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, the Zionist regime is engaged in an intense campaign to convince the Western countries led by the United States to refrain from passing the last few meters of revitalizing the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, while the negotiations between Tehran and the great powers have reached a conclusion. The stage of compromises and concessions, where it is believed that an understanding is imminent.
The 2015 agreement between Iran and major powers (the United States, France, England, Russia, China, and Germany) made it possible to lift international sanctions against Tehran in exchange for reducing its nuclear activities and guaranteeing that Iran is peaceful. The program and non-development of nuclear weapons, which has repeatedly rejected attempts to achieve it.
However, its effects have been reversed since former US President Donald Trump decided to unilaterally withdraw his country in 2018 and reimpose tough sanctions against Tehran.
This action was welcomed by Israel and prompted Iran to withdraw from the basic commitments in the agreement and accelerate its nuclear program, especially in the field of uranium enrichment, from the following year.
But Biden, who succeeded Trump in the US presidency, expressed his determination to return his country to the JCPOA on the condition that Iran returns to its commitments.
After intermittent talks that began in April 2021, indirect talks between the two sides reached a decisive stage: the European Union, the coordinator of the talks, presented a draft “final” settlement, which Iran suspended last week. Removed and waiting for a response. of the United States in this case.
On Tuesday, a US official noted that Tehran had recently made “concessions on critical issues” that might pave the way for an understanding, although he stressed that points of disagreement remain.
Source: Lebanon Debate
