Netanyahu: ‘A bad Iran deal is worse than no deal’ – is Trump listening?

Prime Minister Netanyahu calls for a deal that would see Iran dismantle its nuclear infrastructure, cautioning that a weak agreement could backfire.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed grave reservations about a potential nuclear deal between the US and Iran, claiming that if the terms of the deal are too lenient, such an agreement would be worse than not securing an agreement at all.

Netanyahu said he was concerned about the prospect of an agreement which would permit Iran to continue enriching uranium, albeit under the requirement of doing so strictly for civilian purposes.

“A real deal that works is one that removes Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said on Sunday, speaking at the Jewish News Syndicate conference in Jerusalem.

“A bad deal is worse than no deal,” he continued.

A weak deal could see Iran obey its terms for the duration of Trump’s term, then resume enriching uranium at nuclear-grade levels once the president leaves office, Netanyahu cautioned.

Therefore, Netanyahu said, the only deal that Israel “can live with” would require Iran to “dismantle all the infrastructure” of its nuclear program.

Netanyahu pointed to the 2003 nuclear deal with Libya, which saw the North African country shut down all of its nuclear assets and disband its nuclear research and development program.

The prime minister’s stance appeared to be at odds with US President Donald Trump’s recent bombastic statements about the potential deal.

“On the Iran situation, I think we’re doing very well,” Trump said. “I think a deal is going to be made there.”

Trump added that Washington will establish an agreement with Tehran “without having to start dropping bombs all over the place.”

In an interview with Time magazine last week, Trump denied claims that he had blocked an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.

“Ultimately, I was going to leave that choice to them, but I said I would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped,” he told the outlet.