In advance of the second round of talks between the United States and Iran on a nuclear deal, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has urged Washington to ensure that Tehran relinquishes all of its enriched uranium and is prevented from enriching more.
In a speech to American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem on Sunday night, Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s stance, saying “all enriched material has to leave Iran” and “there should be no enrichment capability”.
His comments came as Iranian and US officials prepared for fresh talks in Geneva on Tuesday.
Netanyahu also said a deal will have to limit Iran’s ballistic missiles to a range of 300km to ensure they cannot reach Israel. He said an agreement must also include disbanding Iran’s proxy network in the Middle East, including Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza.
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Netanyahu said he was sceptical about Iran being ready to make a deal. “Iran is reliable on one thing, that they lie and they cheat,” he said.
Iran has long denied any intent to produce nuclear weapons, but says it will consider compromise proposals if the US is willing to discuss lifting sanctions. However, it considers zero enrichment a violation of its rights under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty – an international agreement aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The US has boosted its military capabilities deployed in the region, sending two aircraft carriers – including its largest warship – to the Middle East.
CBS News, citing two sources familiar with the matter, has reported that US president Donald Trump told Netanyahu in December that he would support Israeli strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile programme if the US and Iran could not reach a deal.
The US outlet reported that discussions about such an attack, roughly eight months after the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, are ongoing. During last year’s war, the US joined the Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. This time, the US role in an Israeli attack would reportedly involve helping jets refuel in mid-air or aiding Israel to receive permission to fly over neighbouring countries, CBS reported.
Several countries have already said they would not let their airspace be used for an attack on Iran.
According to a report by Axios, Trump and Netanyahu, in their talks at the White House last week, agreed to intensify the economic stranglehold on Iran, focusing on Tehran’s oil sales to China. Axios said the two leaders agreed on the desired outcome: an Iran without the capability to obtain nuclear weapons, but disagreed about how to get there.
