Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged international negotiators yesterday not to “surrender” to Tehran, as he launched a media blitz three weeks ahead of a deadline for an Iranian nuclear deal.
In interviews to broadcasters from the six world powers involved in the talks, Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s long-held demand Iran be stripped of its uranium enrichment and other technologies, saying that to do otherwise would leave nuclear weaponry within reach.
“What it would mean is Iran at any time could kick the (foreign nuclear) inspectors aside or deceive them — it’s done that in the past — and go rush to make the enriched uranium that is necessary to make atomic bombs,” he told Britain’s Sky News, according to a transcript published by his office. “And they can do that within weeks or months. That’s bad for Britain, bad for Europe, bad for the United States, bad for Russia, bad for China, very bad for Israel, bad for the Arabs too – bad for the world.”
He has urged that any deal with Iran resemble the removal of Syria’s declared chemical weapons under international agreement.
The six powers’ overarching goal is to extend the time Iran would need to make an atom bomb, if it chose to do so. To this end, they want it to cut down the number of uranium centrifuges in operation. Iran would get sanctions relief in return.
Western diplomats say an extension to the deadline is possible - but, some diplomats add, only if there is a deal in sight, not if there is no progress at all.AFP
