Rivlin ‘greatly concerned’ by Lausanne nuke talks

President Reuven Rivlin said Wednesday that Israel is “greatly concerned” by nuclear talks with Iran entering their 25th hour in Lausanne, though he expressed confidence in the US administration’s ability “to stop every evil in the world.”

Meeting with a bipartisan delegation of American congressmen in Jerusalem, the president focused on the Iranian nuclear talks which resumed in the Swiss resort town of Lausanne Wednesday, just hours after world powers and Tehran abandoned a March 31 deadline to reach the outline of a deal in order to press forward.

“We are sitting here in Jerusalem, but our thoughts are focused on what is happening in Lausanne,” Rivlin said. “There is yet to be a clear picture of what is happening there, and reports are contradicting, but we are of course greatly concerned by the possibility that Iran would achieve nuclear capabilities.”

Rivlin echoed comments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who hours earlier issued a brief but impassioned statement protesting that talks were continuing in Lausanne even as Iran reiterated its insistent goal of destroying the Jewish state.

“Yesterday an Iranian general brazenly declared, and I quote, ‘Israel’s destruction is nonnegotiable,’” Netanyahu said, referring to a statement by Mohammad Reza Naqd, the commander of the Basij militia of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

“But evidently, giving Iran’s murderous regime a clear path to the bomb is negotiable,” he said. “This is unconscionable.”

Rivlin, too, highlighted concerns over signals coming from Tehran. “A nuclear Iran is not only a threat to Israel. Naturally we are worried as they call from the podium of the United Nations for Israel’s end,” the president stated.

Yet he also expressed his support of American efforts to obtain a lasting deal. “I have no doubt that under the leadership of the American President, members of Congress and the Senate, it is possible to stop every evil in the world.”

Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH), chairman of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Tactical Air & Land Forces and leader of the delegation, said he appreciated Rivlin’s concern regarding to Iran.

“[Iran] also poses a threat to the United States, as they seek not only to gain weapons of mass-destruction, but also missile capabilities which threaten the United States,” he said.

AP contributed to this report.