Western Powers Can Get Better Iran Deal, Israeli Lawmaker Says
Israel believes Western powers can reach a better nuclear deal with Iran, a senior lawmaker said on Friday, as attempts to revive a 2015 pact continue with no final deal yet.
Israel believes Western powers can reach a better nuclear deal with Iran, a senior lawmaker said on Friday, as attempts to revive a 2015 pact continue with no final deal yet.
"We must draft a much better deal with a much longer stick. And this is what we're not seeing," Ram Ben-Barak, head of parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, said in a radio interview in Israel.
Tehran's insistence that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) close its probes into uranium traces found at three undeclared sites before the nuclear pact is revived is one key hurdle.
After 16 months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington, the European made a proposal in August but key differences remain between Iran and the US.
The open probes and future inspection were Israel's main concerns with the current deal, Ben-Barak said.
"We must get honest and real answers about what they did there," he said.
Ben-Barak, who once served as deputy director of Israel's Mossad spy agency, said Iran is not as strong as some people may think and has been struggling under sanctions. This could lead Tehran to give up on its nuclear ambitions entirely, whether by diplomacy or military power, he added.
Israel has pledged never to allow Iran to obtain atomic weapons, saying Tehran advocates its destruction. Iran denies ever seeking nuclear arms.
"What Israel wants is something better in place of this deal. Something better means telling the Iranians 'listen, you will not have a nuclear program'," he said.
Reporting by Reuters
Iranian analysts speaking to Iran International TV said that they believe the threat is aimed at making the United States even more eager than before to forge an agreement with Tehran.
Kowsari said in his remarks, as reported by Etemad Online, that Iran can boost uranium enrichment from the current 60 percent to the bomb-grade 93 percent. He added that it is the United States that needs Tehran and not vice versa.
Meanwhile, he denied that Iran's ailing economy badly needs the benefits of an agreement that would lift sanctions on its oil exports and international banking.
In another development, conservative website Nameh News wrote in a commentary on September 1, that although officials and media on both sides are hopeful, it is unlikely that an agreement can be concluded in the next few days. However, the commentary reminded that the delay would lead to losses for Iran, for which the opponents of agreement should be held accountable.
Nameh News said many in Iran believe that President Ebrahim Raisi's comments in a press conference earlier this week could be taken as an early "No" to an agreement.
Iran submitted its response late on September 1 and a US official’s first response was that Tehran’s reply was “not constructive”.
The commentary also reminded that Israeli's are working hard in the meantime to dissuade the United States from signing a deal to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, JCPOA. The commentary further claimed that France is also against a nuclear agreement with Iran and is trying to obstruct the deal. The website claimed that if an agreement is made, Iran will be able to export 2.5 million barrels of oil per day and earn $7.5 billions per month.
Rouydad24, another Iranian website claimed based on Israeli media reports that the new agreement is a weaker document than the original 2015 deal. The website argued that difference between the new and old agreements is not simply about a change in political situation, but it is also the fact that the new version is not as strong as ‘JCPOA-1’.
The website also wrote that the fast-changing international political situation has cast a shadow of doubt on the fate of the agreement, and it is difficult to make a prediction with a good degree of certainty. What is certain, wrote Rouydad24, is that currently more observers who believe the JCPOA can be revived only if a dead man can be returned to life. The website called the revival of the nuclear deal "a fantasy."
The website added that any agreement, if and when it is reached, will not be something like a JCPOA-2. It will certainly be a new deal.
Meanwhile, proreform news website Fararu wrote that given the existence of numerous differences and disputes between Iran and the United States, a stand-alone nuclear deal cannot be long-lasting.
“Even if this happens, as in 2015, it will only be an expression of tactical tolerance of the other side, and the foundations of such an agreement will be shaky. Chances of Iran and the US reaching a sustainable agreement will remain very low as long as the problems between them are not addressed in a fundamental manner,” Fararu said.
