Mossad chief to meet US officials on Iranian nuclear deal in September

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Aug 2022 18:59
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Mossad chief David Barnea heads to the US next week to discuss the nuclear agreement, and Israeli PM Yair Lapid says "Israel" must not get to the situation it was in 2015.

Mossad chief David Barnea

The head of "Israel's" Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, will visit the United States in early September for talks on the possible revival of the Iran nuclear deal, an official confirmed Sunday.

The announced visit is the latest in the Israeli occupation's attempts to sway Western powers from an agreement to return to the landmark 2015 deal with Tehran.

Mossad chief David Barnea will "be visiting Washington in a week to participate in closed door meetings in Congress on the Iran deal," a senior Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity, without providing further details.

According to the Times of Israel, "Barnea will be the third senior Israeli official to visit Washington in recent days to discuss the Iran deal," after Security Minister Benny Gantz and National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata.

Last Thursday, Barnea told reporters that the Iranian nuclear deal was “very bad for Israel” and “based on lies."

Following the remarks, Israeli media reported Thursday that Lapid's office was surprised by Barnea's criticism of US President Joe Biden's administration and demanded clarification.

According to the Israeli news website Walla!, Barnea is the side pushing for the most extreme line on the Iranian nuclear deal within the Israeli occupation government.

Lapid: This is not what Biden signed in "Jerusalem Declaration"

Earlier Sunday, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid told journalists in a briefing at his office in occupied Al-Quds that "Israel's" diplomatic fight against the nuclear deal included its National Security Advisor and Security Minister holding recent meetings in the United States.

"We are making a concerted effort to ensure the Americans and Europeans understand the dangers involved in this agreement," Lapid said.

According to the Israeli occupation Prime Minister, "This agreement is a bad one. It was not good when it was signed in 2015. Today the dangers inherent in it are even greater. It is closer to its end date, and Iran is in a different place technologically,"

"This is not what [Biden] talked about during his visit to Israel, this is not what he signed in the Jerusalem Declaration,” Lapid told reporters.

According to Lapid, a new agreement would have to include an expiration date and tighter supervision that would also "address Iran's ballistic missile program" and its alleged "involvement in terrorism throughout the Middle East."

"We can reach such an agreement if a credible military threat is put on the table, if the Iranians realise that their defiance and deceit will exact a heavy price," Lapid claimed, adding that the Israeli occupation army and Mossad had "received instructions from us to prepare for any scenario."

He claimed that this threat is "what forced the Iranians to sign last time."

“We must not get to the situation we were in 2015. To this day, we are paying for the damage caused by Netanyahu’s speech in Congress, following which the US administration ended its dialogue with us and did not allow Israel to make amendments to the agreement,” Lapid indicated.

The Times of Israel cited a source close to the matter as saying that the Israeli occupation is pressing Washington to issue such a threat.

"A credible military threat is what we think will lead to a good deal. This is the language that Iran understands," the Israeli news website quoted a senior Israeli government official as saying.