Yair Lapid
Yair LapidFlash 90

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid addressed the reports that the Western powers are close to a new nuclear deal with Iran at the start of the weekly Yesh Atid faction meeting Monday.

"A bad nuclear agreement is going to be signed in Vienna. It’s the same deal that was signed in 2015 which restricted Iranian uranium enrichment for ten years. But they didn’t do one straightforward thing: they didn’t update the timeline", Lapid said.

"They left the same expiration date in 2025 on a large portion of the restrictions on Iran. In two and a half years, many of the restrictions on Iran will disappear. Iran will be able to put advanced centrifuges back into action, and enrich uranium for a bomb.

"And if that’s not enough, Iran is asking the world powers for a bonus: to cancel the designation of the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Iran wants the umbrella organization of Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis not to be designated as a terrorist organization.

"If the Revolutionary Guard isn’t a terror organization, what are they? A folk dancing group? The world cannot agree to these conditions. It cannot pump tens of billions of dollars into Iran and let it continue to spread terror around the world.

"Israel will continue to conduct a serious and honest dialogue with the American government, as friends do, in order to make sure an agreement isn’t the end of the matter. Even if it is signed, we’ll continue our fight against the Iranian nuclear program and against Iranian terror.

"Let me be clear: we aren’t subject to this agreement. Israel will defend itself, by itself. We have a strong Army, we have the Mossad, we have a determined government, and we won’t hesitate to act in order to prevent Iran from achieving its goal," Lapid concluded.