The Biden administration rejects the criticism of the emerging nuclear agreement with Iran voiced by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in his speech last night .
A spokesman for the US State Department told Walla! that because the most senior figures in the Israeli defense establishment at the time of America's from the nuclear agreement believe that this was a mistake, "we must not make the same mistake again and postpone another opportunity for diplomatic progress."
The State Department spokesperson told Walla! that Washington is aware of the Israeli prime minister's remarks, but declined to say whether the details Bennett revealed from the negotiations are accurate." We will not respond to the media about details from the talks," he said.
According to the official, the US and Israel share and interest in ensuring Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons, "We believe that diplomacy alongside coordination with our allies in the region is the best way to achieve this goal," he said. "A mutual return to the nuclear deal is the best diplomatic way to ensure that Iran does not get nuclear weapons."
He said that leading figures in Israel's defense establishment agree that the results of the Trump Administration's decision to withdraw from the 2015 agreement were disastrous.
The official said that the Biden Administration was in daily contact with their Israeli counterparts on the effort to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
In a speech to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Sunday night, Bennett said that Israel saw the direction of the negotiations in Vienna "and are deeply troubled by what we see.”
“The emerging deal, as it seems, is highly likely to create a more violent, a more volatile Middle East.”
“The single biggest problem with the current agreement is that the freeze sunsets after two-and-a-half years. Which is right around the corner”
“By this agreement, in two-and-a-half years, Iran will freely be able to develop, install, and operate advanced centrifuges, according to the agreement as it stands right now.”
“In the meantime, as an advance payment, Iran gets now tens of billions of dollars in frozen assets and access to markets. Much of this will be funneled towards attacking Israel, attacking our allies, and even attacking American soldiers in the Middle East. That’s what they’re doing now.”
Iran, Bennett continued, “is at one of its weakest points in history, and now we’re going to pour tens of billions of dollars back into this apparatus of terror.”
The new deal under consideration puts Iran "on the fast track to military-grade enrichment".
“Israel will not allow Iran to become a nuclear threshold state. Israel will always maintain its right to defend itself.”
“I have no doubt that Israel will prevail with whatever circumstances we face. We have developed a strategy around the deal which we feel will make it much harder, enriching this incredible corrupt and brutal regime.”