Benjamin Netanyahu, Photo: JINI / Xinhua News / Profimedia
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday laid out his list of conditions for Israel to accept a US-Iran deal, mainly that Tehran completely eliminate its nuclear program and ballistic missile program that can hit Israel.
Speaking at an event in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that such an agreement must have several components, meaning that all uranium enrichment material be withdrawn from Iran, that the enrichment infrastructure be dismantled and neutralized, that the range of Iranian ballistic missiles be limited to 300 kilometers so that they can no longer hit Israel, and that Iran also stop funding the “axis of terror”, a reference to armed groups such as Hezbollah, the Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Palestinian militias, AFP, EFE and Agerpres report.
“These are the elements that we consider important to reach an agreement. And we presented our position very clearly,” Benjamin Netanyahu indicated, referring to the meeting he had this week in Washington with US President Donald Trump.
Moreover, according to the Israeli prime minister, such an agreement must also provide for the possibility for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to carry out surprise inspections in Iran.
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The United States and Iran resumed talks on February 6 in Oman. Both sides welcomed the progress of the talks, which will continue next week in Geneva, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also left on Sunday.
According to an Iranian official quoted by Reuters, Tehran aims to conclude a nuclear deal with the US that would provide for economic benefits for both sides, such as cooperation in the oil and natural gas sector, investments for the exploitation of mineral resources and even Iran's purchase of some US civilian aircraft.
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Ahead of the resumption of those negotiations, Trump sent a naval group to the Gulf and threatened Iran with military action if it does not strike a deal to neutralize its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which Israel fears.
The Israeli bombing campaign last June, in which Washington also got involved with a penetrating bomb attack on underground nuclear facilities, appears to have failed to completely eliminate Iran's nuclear program, nor the stockpile of enriched uranium allegedly sheltered by the Iranian authorities.
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