Netanyahu: Bad Iran deal is ‘worse than no deal’; Trump: A deal is ‘going to happen’
PM insists any agreement must dismantle regime’s entire nuclear program, but US president confident ‘we’ll have something without having to start dropping bombs all over the place’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Sunday for Iran’s entire nuclear infrastructure to be dismantled, as talks between the US and Iran appeared to move in a positive direction following a third round of indirect negotiations in Oman over the weekend.
Netanyahu also specified that Iran must not be allowed to enrich uranium or even to retain the capacity to do so, and told a conference that he had presented his position on the matter to US President Donald Trump, and was in close contact with the US on the subject.
It was unclear, however, exactly how much Netanyahu’s position aligns with that of the US. Speaking to reporters, also on Sunday, Trump did not appear to share his concerns. “On the Iran situation, I think we’re doing very well,” said Trump. “I think a deal is going to be made there. It’s going to happen. Pretty sure it’s going to happen.”
“We’ll have something without having to start dropping bombs all over the place,” Trump added.
The US-Iran negotiations — aimed at sealing a deal blocking Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, while lifting crippling economic sanctions imposed by Washington — are expected to continue to a fourth round in the coming days.
Speaking at the Jewish News Syndicate policy conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu stressed that Tehran could not be allowed to continue enriching uranium. As far as Israel is concerned, he said, “a real deal that works is one that removes Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.
He said Trump has told him “many times, including just recently, ‘We can’t allow Iran to have nuclear weapons.’ And I said, ‘I absolutely believe that.'”
“Dismantle all the infrastructure of Iran’s nuclear program. That is a deal we can live with,” Netanyahu went on, predicting that if the two sides were to agree on a deal that is too lenient, Iran would simply run out the clock and wait for the end of Trump’s term before picking back up where it left off.
Iran, which openly seeks Israel’s destruction, denies seeking nuclear arms, but has accelerated production of 60%-enriched uranium, an enrichment rate far above what is needed for civilian uses and a short technical step from weapons-grade uranium. It also continues to develop its ballistic missile capabilities.
In addition to the issue of enriched uranium, Netanyahu suggested that Iran’s ballistic missile production capabilities should be included in the negotiations as well.
“A bad deal is worse than no deal,” the premier said, arguing that the “only good deal” would be one modeled on the deal that Libya agreed to in 2003, under which Tehran’s entire nuclear program, both military and civilian, would be dismantled completely.
While Trump has repeatedly threatened that the US could potentially unleash airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear program should negotiations fail, he has made it clear that he prefers to first exhaust all diplomatic channels before turning to a military solution.
To that end, in a Time Magazine interview published Friday, Trump addressed recent reports that he had dissuaded Israel from striking Iran’s nuclear sites in the near term.
He told Time that he had not blocked Israel’s plans outright when Jerusalem proposed a series of joint strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, but acknowledged that he “didn’t make it comfortable for them to proceed.”
“Ultimately, I was going to leave that choice to them, but I said I would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped,” he said.
However, the US would intervene militarily if no deal can be reached, Trump indicated. “I may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal. If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack,” said Trump.
Dermer said to have pushed for possible ‘bunker buster’ attack
Not entirely on board with the US’s preference for negotiations, on a recent trip to Washington, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was said by the Washington Post to have pressed top officials to consider deploying powerful “bunker buster” bombs against Iran’s fortified nuclear sites.
Israel is said to be deeply concerned that the US is closing in on a “bad deal” with Iran that will not meet Jerusalem’s stated essential conditions for ensuring the regime cannot attain nuclear weapons. Channel 12 news reported last week that Israel believes the negotiations are “very, very advanced,” and that the US is not sharing enough information with Israel on key specific issues.
Netanyahu, according to reports, was only informed of the US’s new talks with Iran — the highest-level engagement between the long-time foes since 2018 — hours before Trump announced them to the world, and failed to gain assurances that Israel’s demands would be met at the negotiating table.
Earlier this month, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff appeared to indicate that the US was looking to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment rather than dismantle its nuclear program altogether. Witkoff then walked that stance back and said any deal must “eliminate” Iran’s enrichment and weaponization.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week said that Iran could have “a civil nuclear program” but without doing their own enrichment. “They can have one just like many other countries in the world have one. That is, they import enriched material.”
Rubio’s Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi has called the issue of enrichment “non-negotiable.”
Agencies contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.