Israel urges tough stand against Iran in nuclear talks

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday urged world powers to take a tough stand against Iran in talks aimed at reviving Iran international nuclear deal, when his top defense and intelligence officials went to Washington to discuss ongoing talks.

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Israel is watching with concern world powers sit with Iran Hoping to restore the old 2015 deal in Vienna. Iran last week hit your own hard line As talks resumed in Vienna, suggesting that everything discussed in the previous round of diplomacy could be renegotiated. Continuing Iranian progress in its nuclear program has further raised the stakes in talks that are crucial to cooling years of tensions in the wider Middle East.

The original deal, led by then-President Barack Obama, gave Iran great relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbing its nuclear activities. But then-President Donald Trump, with strong impetus from Israel, withdrew from the deal in 2018, leaving it settled.

Last week’s talks in Vienna resumed after a hiatus of more than five months and were the first in which Iran’s new hard-line government has participated.

European and US negotiators expressed dismay at Iran’s stand and questioned whether talks would be successful under Iran’s tough stance.

Israel has long opposed the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, known as the JCPOA, saying it is not enough to stop the country’s nuclear program and hostile Iranian military activity throughout the region. As does not address it.

Prominent Voices in Israel Are Now Signaling America’s return, especially without a contingency plan for Iran’s ever-developing nuclear plan, was a blunder. But Israel’s new government maintains a similar position to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rejecting a return to the original deal and calling for diplomacy with military pressure on Iran.

“I call on every country that has negotiated with Iran in Vienna to take a strong line and make it clear to Iran that they cannot enrich uranium and at the same time,” Bennett said at a meeting of his cabinet. I can’t talk.” “Iran must start paying the price for its violation.”

The United States abandoned the deal in 2018 as part of Mr Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.

But this approach seems to have backfired. Since the collapse of the deal, Iran now enriches small amounts of uranium to 60% purity – a small step up from the weapons-grade level of 90%. Iran also uses advanced centrifuges banned by the agreement, and its uranium stockpile now exceeds the limits of the agreement.

For now, Iran is showing no signs of backing down. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, who is leading the talks in Vienna, suggested over the weekend that Iran was planning to present a third list of demands to its counterparts. These will include proposed repairs after two pages of demands last week.

“Any restrictions that are infringing and not in line with (the deal) should be lifted immediately,” Bagheri Kani said. al Jazeera, “All sanctions imposed or reimposed under the so-called maximum pressure campaign of the United States must be lifted immediately.”

President Joe Biden has said the US is ready to re-enter the deal, although the US is not a direct participant in the latest round of talks because of Washington’s withdrawal. Instead, US negotiators were nearby and briefed by other participants, including three European powers, China and Russia.

Although Israel is not a party to the talks, it has made it a point to maintain lines of communication with its US and European allies during the talks, which are due to resume this week.

The current Israeli government objects to a withdrawal from the 2015 deal, instead urging a deal that addresses other Iranian military behavior, such as its missile program and support for anti-Israel terrorist groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Israel also supports a “credible” military threat against Iran in the form of leverage.

Israel’s spy chief David Barnia traveled to Washington late Saturday on a previously unannounced visit, and Defense Secretary Benny Gantz left on Wednesday for a meeting with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid was in London and Paris last week to discuss talks with Israel’s European allies.

Mr Bennett said Israel was using the time between visits to convince Americans to “use a different toolkit” against Iran’s nuclear program, without elaborating. Israel and the US are widely believed to have conducted covert operations against Iranian nuclear personnel and infrastructure to sabotage the program.

A senior State Department official said negotiators expected Iran to “show seriousness” in the talks. He said Russia and China, which are important trading hubs for Iran, which have traditionally taken a softer stance in their ties with the country, skipped talks about the prospects of a deal last week.

“Every day is a day when we come closer to the conclusion that they don’t have a return to the JCPOA in short order. They have in mind what I want – what we will call their own plan B, which is The talks are to be used as a cover, as a front for the continued building of their nuclear program to act as leverage for a better one. Make the deal for them,” said the official, who did not wish to be named. Informed journalists on the US assessment on condition of publication.

He said Iran’s acceleration of its nuclear program threatens the success of the talks.

European negotiators also expressed disappointment with the Iranians. Senior diplomats from Germany, Britain and France said Iran had “fast forward its nuclear program” and “backed down on diplomatic progress”.

“It is not clear how these new gaps can be closed in a realistic time frame based on the Iranian draft,” he said.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. However, US intelligence agencies and international watchers say Iran had an organized nuclear weapons program as far back as 2003. Non-proliferation experts fear any reduction could push Iran to even more extreme measures to force the West to lift sanctions.