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IDF Chief of Staff warns US against rejoining Iranian nuclear deal

Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi “presented the failures of the current nuclear deal, which allow Iran to make significant advances in the coming years.”

By World Israel News Staff

In two days of talks in Washington, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi warned American officials against returning to the Iranian nuclear deal.

Lt.-Gen. Kochavi met with top U.S. defense officials, including his counterpart, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

“The chief of staff presented the failures of the current nuclear deal, which allow Iran to make significant advances in the coming years in the quantity and quality of centrifuges and in the amount and quality of enriched uranium, and he stressed the lack of oversight in the area of developing a nuclear weapon,” the IDF said in a statement.

Israel opposes the U.S. returning to the JCPOA nuclear agreement, which Washington withdrew from in 2018. The sixth round of indirect U.S.-Iran talks in Vienna concluded on Sunday. Participants were hopeful that a yet-to-be scheduled seventh round of talks would yield an agreement.

Kochavi raised eyebrows January when he publicly criticized the nuclear agreement at a security conference in Tel Aviv. IDF officers rarely if ever publicly comment on politics or criticize allies.

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Besides the Iranian threat, Kochavi also discussed Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm, conclusions drawn from operation Guardian of the Walls, and replenishing Iron Dome batteries. Reports say the Biden administration has already pledged to request Congress to provide funds to restock the defense system following the Gaza crisis.

The Israeli government will watch closely how Washington reacts to Kochavi’s visit. Outgoing Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is scheduled to visit the White House on June 28, where it is expected that he too will bring up the Iranian threat.