'Israel' worried of nuclear deal with benefits to Iran
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Both Israeli officials, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, expressed their extreme worry if the JCPOA reaches an agreement as the EU is currently reviewing the Iranian response and Iranian officials suggest a potential of positive outcomes.
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Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, right, sits next to Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman as he speaks during a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office, Sunday, July 24, 2022 (Pool via AP)
Israeli PM Yair Lapid has affirmed "Israel's" opposition to the revival of the JCPOA agreement of 2015, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal.
In a statement on Thursday by Lapid's administration and after a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding the Iran nuclear deal, the statement read: "The Prime Minister reiterated Israel’s opposition to a return to the nuclear agreement and the need for Europe to send a clear and unequivocal message that there will be no more concessions to Iran".
The statement concluded with "Europe must oppose Iran buying time in negotiations. The two agreed to meet soon, as a reflection of the close relations between their two countries."
Positive development in the nuclear talks
Military analyst at the Israeli Walla! website, Amir Bohbot, described the situation as "Iranians pulling the Americans out of their noses with expertise".
Political sources in "Israel" said “We are definitely seeing that Iran is nearing the agreement," the sources claimed, but added: "This process contradicts the fact that there is no real rapprochement in the positions of the two sides. There is tension between the two contradictory vectors, but the preparation process is creating momentum and more positive discussion in advance of a deal.”
Iran has already provided an official response on August 15 to the JCPOA's offer regarding its revival and mutual collaboration with the involved parties.
The European Commission has from its side announced that the EU is reviewing the final draft of the deal, adding that it would consult with the other participants. The US Foreign Ministry confirmed last Tuesday that it also received Iran's response to the EU's proposal on reviving the deal.
Two days prior, a meeting of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council brought together Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, Iran's top negotiator, Ali Baqeri Kani, and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani.
Shamkhani reiterated Tehran's policy of not linking the country's economy to the nuclear negotiations, pointing out that "regardless of whether an agreement is reached or not, which in all cases serves the interests of the Iranian nation, and also with the very good coordination that was done between different parts of the country to advance the negotiations, there was no retraction of any part of the red lines and there will not be any in the future."
Bagheri Kani further commented that the Iranian negotiating delegation focused on obtaining the necessary and reassuring guarantees that Iran will benefit economically from the nuclear agreement, alongside Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani who affirmed positive development in the nuclear talks.
Gantz: Iran's closing in on nuclear power is worrying "Israel"
Israeli security minister Benny Gantz disclosed to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that the Iran nuclear deal, if an agreement is reached, should be a great one that doesn't leave any loopholes open.
“Iran is a global and regional problem and an Israeli challenge,” Gantz claimed, expressing his severe concern with Iran's pre-existing economic advantage and now with "their advancement in nuclear power" which he described as "worrisome" to the world and to "Israel".
