Israel slams Iran nuclear deal
Israel was at loggerheads with some of its closest allies this week, decrying the deal signed between Western powers and Iran as endangering the world.
The White House said that it was making history by halting the progress of a nuclear nation for the first time in a decade, but Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the accord is “not a historic agreement; it is a historic mistake.”
The clash between Israel and its European allies is also sharp. Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague took the unusual step on Monday of warning Israel off interfering with the agreement. “We would discourage anybody in the world, including Israel, from taking any steps that would undermine this agreement and we will make that very clear to all concerned,” Hague said.
Israel’s main concerns are that the agreement marks a concession based on previous demands by world powers, devaluing the international community’s declarations, that it allows Iran to achieve international acceptance and relax sanctions without halting its nuclear program. Israel is dismayed that while Iran needs to dilute or convert its 196 kilograms of 20 per cent-enriched uranium, it gets to hold onto its 3.5 per cent-enriched uranium – which intelligence sources in Jerusalem say could be turned in to a bomb within weeks.
“For the first time, the world’s leading powers have agreed to uranium enrichment in Iran while ignoring the UN Security Council decisions that they themselves led,” said Netanyahu.
He claimed that agreement will “endanger many countries including, of course, Israel. Israel is not bound by this agreement. The Iranian regime is committed to the destruction of Israel and Israel has the right and the obligation to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.
Netanyahu voiced regret that the West has, in his opinion, taken the teeth out of the threat of economic steps against the Islamic Republic. “Sanctions that required many years to put in place contain the best chance for a peaceful solution,” he said. “These sanctions have been given up in exchange for cosmetic Iranian concessions that can be cancelled in weeks.”
Despite Netanyahu’s negative reaction to the deal, some analysts suggested that were it not for his pressure, Iran would most likely be continuing enriching without any limitations. “There wouldn’t be anything,” said Bar-Ilan University political scientist Shmuel Sandler, talking to The AJN. “They [world powers] accepted a nuclear North Korea, and that’s a really dangerous state.”
Israel’s president Shimon Peres took a less pessimistic view of the Iran deal than Netanyahu. He said: “This is an interim deal. The success or failure of the deal will be judged by results, not by words.”
Peres stated that he believes a diplomatic solution is possible, but said that Israel will stand firm on its demands. “Israel like others in the international community prefers a diplomatic solution,” he said. “But I want to remind everyone of what President Obama said, and what I have personally heard from other leaders. The international community will not tolerate a nuclear Iran. And if the diplomatic path fails, the nuclear option will be prevented by other means. The alternative is far worse.”
Despite the caution in the political echelon, some Israeli security personnel were positive about the deal. Former military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said in a conference call with journalists that he thinks the agreement may have prevented an imminent Iranian breakout to nuclear weapon capability.
The Iranian deal was not the only source of friction between Israel and its allies this week. An argument between Jerusalem and Brussels reached crisis point, with Brussels refusing to compromise on its anti-settlement stance, before a resolution late on Tuesday.
Israel wants to join the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme, which will inject more than $500,000 into Israeli research and development – but refused to agree to steps against settlements that Europe is requiring as a prerequisite.
Earlier this year, the EU made new rules demanding that no money given to Israel goes to activities in the settlements or institutions based in the settlements. Jerusalem was concerned that joining the program under these terms could be perceived as delegitimisation of the settlements. Late on Tuesday, Israel and the EU reached a compromise, which will add an appendix to the Horizon 2020 agreement in which Israel states its objection to the anti-settlement funding rules.
NATHAN JEFFAY