Supposed US capitulation to Iran over its nuclear program has European officials worried while Israeli officials claim the US “has given the Iranians 80 percent of what they want.”
US Secretary Kerry (R) and Iranian FM Zarif. (Photo: Wikipedia)
European diplomats fear that the Obama administration has accepted most of the Iranian demands regarding their nuclear aspirations in return for an assurance of regional calm and stability, Israel’s IDF Radio reported on Tuesday.
According to reports based on discussions between European and Israeli officials, the US has agreed to leave Iran with some 6,500 centrifuges and to lift all sanctions for the next 10 years. In return, Iran promises to refrain from backing terror and subversive activities in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, as well as to withdraw its support for the Hezbollah terror organization.
IDF Radio quotes unnamed European officials as saying that US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had discussed the issue of enabling the Iranians to retain thousands of centrifuges.
The European officials, according to the IDF radio report, fear that Washington is acting behind their backs and will strike a deal with Tehran without their consent.
This report comes just days after Israel’s Channel 10 revealed that US President Barack Obama had conceded to the majority of Tehran’s demands regarding its nuclear program. On Friday, Channel 10 quoted Israeli officials, who said that the Obama Administration “has given the Iranians 80 percent of what they want.”
An unnamed senior US official responded to the report by telling the Jerusalem Post: “That’s complete nonsense.”
Meanwhile, after two years of chilly relations between Iran and Hamas, Iran renewed its funding of the terror organization operating mainly out of Gaza, Israel’s Walla News reported on Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the world of not doing enough against Iran’s terror. Speaking to UN General Secretary on Sunday, the Israeli leader told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the international community has “yet to point an accusatory finger at Iran,” which was behind the attack on Israel’s northern border last week that claimed the lives of two IDF soldiers. Netanyahu said that Iran has been working to establish a terrorist front against Israel on the Golan Heights and is exporting terrorism around the world.
Israel Will Fight ‘Bad Deal’
PM Netanyahu speaks at a press conference. (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Anxiously monitoring developments between Iran and the West, Israel is concerned that the US may settle for a dangerous deal which, according to some analysts, would enable the Obama Administration to claim a diplomatic achievement.
Such a deal would leave Iran with “threshold” capabilities to develop nuclear weapons within a short time, subsequently posing an existential threat to Israel.
Israel supports an international demand that Iran cease supporting terror, adding that it should be a prerequisite to any relaxing of sanctions.
Speaking last week, Netanyahu stated that “the agreement now being formulated between the major powers and Iran is unacceptable to Israel.
“This agreement is dangerous to Israel, to the region and to the world,” Netanyahu continued, because “it leaves Iran the ability to produce the necessary material for a nuclear bomb within a few months, and afterwards, to produce dozens of nuclear bombs.
“Therefore, Israel adamantly opposes this agreement. I, as Prime Minister, stand up and say this unequivocally. We will do everything in order to prevent the arming of Iran with nuclear weapons capabilities,” Netanyahu vowed.
By: Atara Beck, World Israel News