Report: Netanyahu says US and Iran in talks

(TIMES OF ISRAEL) – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday informed officials about the details of a potential nuclear deal between the US and Iran that Israel would be able to accept, according to reports in Hebrew media.

Netanyahu downplayed the US-Iran negotiations as closing in on a “mini-agreement, not an agreement”, the reports by Walla and Channel 13 said, citing several unnamed lawmakers who took part in the closed-door, three-hour meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.

“What’s on the agenda at the moment between Washington and Tehran is not a nuclear deal, it’s a mini-deal,” Netanyahu was reported to say. “We will be able to handle it.

“This isn’t the deal we knew,” the Prime Minister reportedly said, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal staunchly opposed by Jerusalem, which Washington left in 2018.

Walla said the deal apparently includes a stipulation that Iran will not enrich uranium above 60 per cent, and in exchange, the US will release Iranian funds that are being held abroad under sanctions. The two sides would also carry out a prisoner exchange.

The most recent estimate by the International Atomic Energy Agency is that Iran has 114.1kg of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity – a level for which nonproliferation experts already say Tehran has no civilian use.

Netanyahu’s comments came after a US official confirmed on Monday that Washington was in contact with Iran regarding the long-stalled nuclear talks, but denied that discussions on an interim agreement were taking place.

“There are no talks about an interim deal,” the official said. “We have made clear to them what escalatory steps they needed to avoid to prevent a crisis and what de-escalatory steps they could take to create a more positive context.”

The US official indicated that Washington was seeking greater cooperation between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) watchdog.

On Sunday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed support for an agreement, but added, “The existing infrastructure of the nuclear industry should not be touched.”

He claimed that the international community was powerless to keep Iran from a nuclear weapon if it sought one, but also urged cooperation with the IAEA while warning against succumbing to “bullying” based on “unfounded claims”.

Iran insists that its nuclear program is for civilian use only and that it is not seeking nuclear weapons capabilities.

Netanyahu on Tuesday sent a message to the US that Israel would not see itself bound by any agreement Washington might reach with Iran over its nuclear program.

Speaking at the start of a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Netanyahu said that over the years, Iran had replaced the Arab nations as the principal threat to Israel.

“More than 90 per cent of our security issues stem from Iran and its [proxies],” he said.

“Our position is clear: Israel will not be bound by any deal with Iran and will continue to defend itself.”