Netanyahu Criticizes Restoration of Iran Nuclear Deal as "Opening the Path to Nuclear Weapons"

Condemnation of Iran Nuclear Deal Restoration on Holocaust Remembrance Day
On the 6th, Parties Including the US and Iran Hold Meeting to Restore Nuclear Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voiced criticism of the United States' efforts to restore the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).

According to local media on the 8th (local time), in a speech on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorates the Jews massacred during World War II, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "An agreement with Iran opens the path to nuclear weapons, and these weapons will destroy us," criticizing the discussions on restoring the Iran nuclear deal.

He also raised his voice, saying, "History has proven that negotiations with extremist regimes are worthless," and "Our only mission is to identify and stop those who seek to destroy us."

Netanyahu's remarks are interpreted as a warning message to the Joe Biden administration, which is trying to restore the Iran nuclear deal that former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from.

Previously, Israel, known as the only 'unofficial nuclear power' in the Middle East with hundreds of nuclear weapons, has been wary of Iran's nuclear weapons development.

Israel has publicly declared military operation plans to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. On the 6th, reports emerged that the cargo ship 'MV Saviz,' known as a maritime base of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Red Sea, was attacked. This day coincided with talks held in Vienna, Austria, involving the U.S., Iran, and other parties to the nuclear deal.

If these reports are true, it is interpreted that Israel sent a strong opposition message to the U.S. and Iran's attempts to restore the nuclear deal.

Previously, former President Barack Obama reached the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, which limited Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the U.S. lifting sanctions on Iran.

However, in 2018, former President Donald Trump unilaterally declared the termination of the nuclear deal and reinstated most of the sanctions against Iran.

In response, Iran gradually reduced its compliance with the nuclear deal provisions starting in May 2019. Iran announced in January that it had begun producing uranium enriched to 20%. Furthermore, Iran has declared that it will not stop enriching uranium to medium levels unless economic sanctions are lifted. Generally, the higher the uranium enrichment level, the greater the potential for use as nuclear weapon material.