Iran nuclear deal revival 'crucial mistake': Lapid from Germany
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz regrets Iran's stance on the EU's suggestions, and "Israel", through its Prime Minister, still aims to obstruct the process.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a news conference in Berlin, Germany. August 16, 2022 (Reuters)
Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who is on a visit to Germany, said Monday a revival of the nuclear deal with Iran would be a "crucial mistake".
Speaking during a joint press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Lapid said he presented the chancellor with sensitive intelligence information that supports "Israel's" opposition to the emerging agreement.
"Returning to the nuclear agreement under the current conditions would be a crucial mistake," he said, claiming that the removal of sanctions that will see hundreds of billions of dollars returned to Iran "will bring waves of terrorism, not only to the Middle East, but also across Europe," in the latest Israeli frenzy over the Iran nuclear deal.
On his part, completely disregarding the US stalling and Israeli attempts at hindering any possible deal, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed regret on Monday that Iran has "failed to agree to suggestions from European countries to restart talks on limiting its nuclear program," saying that any agreement would be out of reach "in the near future."
"I regret that Iran has not yet given a positive response to proposals from the European coordinators," he told a press conference during a visit to Berlin by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. "There is now actually no reason for Iran not to agree to these proposals."
"But we have to note that this is not the case, and will not happen certainly in the near future."
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Germany is one of three European countries that have signed on to the agreement, along with France and the United Kingdom.
Speaking alongside Scholz, Lapid, who is in Germany to convince Western countries to abandon the Iran deal, said it was "time to move past the disastrous discussions with Iran."
"They cannot and will not achieve the goal we all share to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon," he cried out.
"Strategic disaster for Israel"
Israeli media reported last month that the Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea warned that the crystallized nuclear agreement was "bad", stressing that "the only beneficiary of it will be Iran."
"Israel" Hayom newspaper said that Barnea said in closed talks that "the United States and Iran are determined to reach an agreement that is estimated to be signed in the coming days."
According to the newspaper, the Mossad chief said, "The discussion between the two parties revolves around the small differences that will be resolved. I don't see anything that would stop the agreement."
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Barnea considered that "Iran will gain hundreds of billions as a result of the lifting of sanctions, and it will pay a very small price in the form of handing over the uranium it has stockpiled and restoring oversight of its nuclear facilities."
For its part, Channel 12 quoted the Mossad chief as saying in a series of internal meetings that "the agreement is very bad for Israel, yet, a strategic disaster."
Israeli media quoted the former head of the National Security Council, Major General (Reserve) Yaakov Amidror, as saying, "The Americans had deceived us in the previous nuclear agreement," stressing that the US "acts in accordance with its interests."
