'Israel' to discuss Iran's nuclear program with Russia: Ambassador
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Acting Israeli ambassador to Moscow stresses that Iran’s nuclear program remains a top priority for "Israel".
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"Israel's" Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Ben Zvi (Screenshot)
"Israel" plans to engage in new discussions with Russia regarding Iran’s nuclear program, Acting Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi stated in an interview for TASS.
"There will be contacts on this issue. It will be at the level of the Foreign Ministry, and also at the level of other meetings. Because, as I said, this is an issue that interests us," Ben Zvi said.
"So we'll also discuss any, let's say, unfriendly actions by Iran against Israel and try to exert influence through our partners in order to prevent them," he added.
The envoy stressed that Iran’s nuclear program remains a top priority for "Israel".
"This is the issue that we are probably most concerned about, because it is a strategic threat to Israel. And that's why it's very important for us to discuss it with all our partners and to do everything we can to ensure that the Iranian nuclear program is not implemented," he emphasized.
Ben Zvi mentioned that "Israel" is "in contact with all our partners, including Russia, on this issue."
Western nations, including the US, have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran vehemently denies, maintaining that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.
A couple of days ago, Tehran firmly stated in a letter to the Security Council that its nuclear activities are "entirely peaceful" and fully comply with its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Iran also highlighted that the United States remains the only country in history to have used nuclear weapons.
Tehran criticized Washington’s "double standards and blatant hypocrisy," pointing to its complete silence on "Israel’s" secret nuclear arsenal.
The latest announcement comes after earlier this month, US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Sayyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran, warning that "there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal."
However, Sayyed Khamenei rejected the US offer for talks as "a deception", emphasizing that negotiating with the Trump administration would "tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran."
On his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that his country would soon reply to both "threats and opportunities" in Trump's letter, stressing that on Sunday that talks with the US are impossible unless it changes its "maximum pressure" policy, which Trump had applied in his first term as president and has reinstated after returning to office in January.
But the White House's national security advisor, Mike Waltz, acknowledged that the US sought "full dismantlement" of Iran's nuclear program.
"Iran has to give up its program in a way that the entire world can see," he told CBS News.
"As President Trump has said, this is coming to a head. All options are on the table and it is time for Iran to walk away completely from its desire to have a nuclear weapon."
Read more: China calls for end to ‘illegal’ sanctions at Iran talks
