JERUSALEM, Nov 29 — Israel’s prime minister charged that Iran was today re-entering talks on its nuclear programme to seek sanctions relief in exchange for “almost nothing,” insisting Tehran should “not be rewarded.”
“Despite Iran’s violations and undermining of the nuclear inspections, Iran will be arriving at the negotiation table in Vienna, and there are those who think they deserve to have their sanctions removed and hundreds of billions of dollars poured right into their rotten regime,” Naftali Bennett said.
“They’re wrong,” said the Israeli premier.
“Such a murderous regime should not be rewarded,” Bennett said, urging Israel’s allies “to not give into Iran’s nuclear blackmail”.
The Israeli prime minister said Tehran was be entering the negotiations in Vienna with the objective “to end sanctions in exchange for almost nothing”.
Bennett’s his top diplomat Yair Lapid was in Europe on Monday for meetings with British and French leaders to press Israel’s case against any concessions to arch foe Iran or a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
That pact between Tehran and world powers was designed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear arsenal by imposing strict limits on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
Israel under former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu cheered when former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
President Joe Bidens administration, however, says it is working to return the United States to the accord whose other parties are Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. — AFP
