Israel hints at escalating confrontations with Iran amid nuclear talks

Middle East, News November 24, 2021 , by IRIA No Comments

Israel won’t be obligated to Iran deal if the U.S. returns, says Benett

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has indicated readiness to step up confrontations with Iran, saying that his country would not be bound by any new Iranian nuclear deal with world powers.

“In any event, even if there is a return to a deal, Israel is of course not a party to the deal and Israel is not obligated by the deal,” Benett said. He described Iran as being at “the most advanced stage of its nuclear program”.

Iran and the other signatories of its 2015 nuclear deal will be in Vienna starting November 29 to try to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the US abandoned in 2018.

Iran, which denies seeking a nuclear weapon, has admitted a further breach of the 2015 nuclear deal by firing up advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges since the US walkout.

Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi visited Iran on November 23 for talks. He said the agency wanted to deepen cooperation with Iran before the resumption of negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal.

Israel claims Iran is five years away from developing a nuclear weapon

Iran is five years away from developing a nuclear weapon, and international dialogue to resume next week will not slow it down, Israeli officials have said. “With or without an agreement, Iran will be a nuclear state and have a nuclear weapon within five years,” Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.

U.S. warns Israel its attacks are counterproductive

American officials have warned their Israeli counterparts that the repeated attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities may be tactically satisfying, but they are ultimately counterproductive, the New York Times reported.

Over the past 20 months, Israeli intelligence operatives have assassinated Iran’s chief nuclear scientist and triggered major explosions at four Iranian nuclear and missile facilities, to cripple the centrifuges and delay the ambitions of Tehran’s government to build a bomb. But Iranians quickly got their facilities back online, even installed new machines that can enrich uranium at an accelerated pace, U.S. intelligence officials and international inspectors noted.