With deadline imminent, Netanyahu ‘anxious’ over Vienna talks
On eve of end of negotiations between Iran and P5+1 on nuclear program, PM still urging leaders not to accept ‘bad deal’
Prime Minister Benjamin said Sunday that he is actively urging international leaders not to accept “a bad deal” with Iran over its nuclear program, as negotiators held marathon talks in Vienna aimed at reaching a pact before Monday’s deadline.
Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israel was “anxiously” watching the ongoing talks in Vienna, after he spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry the night before.
“We are holding discussions with the representatives of other major powers and are presenting them with a vigorous position to the effect that Iran must not be allowed to be determined as a nuclear threshold state,” he said.
“There is no reason why it should be left with thousands of centrifuges that could enable it to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb in a short time. Neither is there any reason why Iran should continue to develop intercontinental missiles, which could carry nuclear warheads, and thereby threaten the entire world. Therefore, no agreement at all would be preferable to a bad agreement that would endanger Israel, the Middle East and all of humanity.”
The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany have been locked in talks with Iran since February to turn the interim Geneva accord reached a year ago into a lasting agreement by November 24.
Netanyahu has repeatedly voiced his opposition to world powers engaging Iran diplomatically, both before the interim accords and following.
Last month, the prime minister wrote a letter to nations negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program that Tehran’s recent calls to eliminate Israel show it is “unreformed,” and urged them not to sign a bad deal.
The prime minister said he urged the P5+1 ministers to regard statements from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as proof that the country had not reformed and still sought to destroy Israel. Khamenei had posted messages on his Twitter feed outlining a nine-point plan to “eliminate Israel.”
On Sunday, the signs in Vienna, where talks between Iran and world powers were being held, seemed to point more toward another extension than a final agreement.
An Iranian source told AFP Sunday that while Iran was still focusing on reaching a political agreement, it was also open to having the nuclear negotiations extended by six months or a year if no real progress toward an agreement is achieved later Sunday.
AFP contributed to this report.
