Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday laid out Israel’s conditions for supporting a nuclear deal with Iran.
Speaking at the beginning of a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday as talks between European powers and Iran restarted in Vienna, Lapid said Israel does not oppose negotiations towards a new deal with Iran, but stressed that any agreement must include real oversight of Iran’s nuclear program and funding for terror.
“Today, nuclear talks resume in Vienna,” said Lapid. “Stopping Iran’s nuclear program is the primary challenge for Israeli foreign and security policy.”
“In recent months, we’ve engaged in an intensive dialogue with all the countries involved in these negotiations. Naturally, primarily with the United States, but not only. I’ve traveled to Moscow, Paris, London, and of course, Washington, DC.”
“We have told everyone clearly: Israel will not let Iran become a nuclear threshold state. Certainly we prefer to act through international cooperation, but if necessary - we will defend ourselves, by ourselves.”
“We have presented our allies quite a bit of clear-cut intelligence. Not just opinions and positions, but intelligence that proves that Iran is systematically deceiving the world.”
“All Iran cares about is the lifting of sanctions, allowing for billions of dollars to pour into their nuclear program, Hezbollah, Syria, Iraq, and the terrorist network they have deployed around the world. Israel does not oppose any agreement. A good agreement is a good thing. We do oppose an agreement that does not promise real oversight of the Iranian nuclear program and Iran’s money and terrorist network.”