Israel Says Iran Deal 'Historic Mistake' that Gave it 'Greatest Diplomatic Victory'
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday slammed a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers as a "historic mistake,” his spokesman said.
"PM Netanyahu: What was achieved yesterday in Geneva is not a historic agreement but rather a historic mistake," Ofir Gendelman posted on his official Twitter account, quoting Netanyahu's comments to a weekly cabinet meeting.
Earlier, Netanyahu's office said the deal was "bad" as Tehran had obtained "what it wanted."
"This is a bad agreement that gives Iran what it wanted: the partial lifting of sanctions while maintaining an essential part of its nuclear program," said a statement published a few hours after the historic accord was signed in the Swiss city.
"The agreement allows Iran to continue to enrich uranium, leaves the centrifuges in place and allows it to produce fissile material for a nuclear weapon," it added.
"The accord did not lead to the dismantling of the Arak plant,” the heavy water reactor being built 240 kilometers (150 miles) southwest of Tehran.
"Economic pressure on Iran could have produced a much better agreement that would have led to a dismantling of Iran's nuclear capacities."
Israel's President Shimon Peres was more cautious in his response, pointing to the fact the agreement was "an interim deal" which allowed time for a diplomatic solution.
In a statement, however, he did not rule out a military response.
"Reject terrorism," Peres pleaded with the Iranian people. "Stop the nuclear program. Stop the development of long-range missiles. Israel like others in the international community prefers a diplomatic solution.
"But ... if the diplomatic path fails, the nuclear option will be prevented by other means," Peres warned.
Earlier on Sunday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the deal has handed Iran its "greatest diplomatic victory."
"This agreement is the greatest diplomatic victory of Iran, which has gained recognition for its so-called legitimate right to enrich uranium," Lieberman told public radio.
The historic deal came after five days of intensive negotiations in Geneva between Iranian interlocutors and high-ranking delegations from the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany in the grouping known as the P5+1.
Israel's Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, the leader of a far-right party, meanwhile said his country was not bound by the Geneva deal and had a right to self-defense.
"Iran is threatening Israel and Israel has the right to defend itself," he told a military radio station.
Cabinet minister for intelligence issues, Yuval Steinitz, also said the last-minute changes to the deal were "far from satisfactory" and did nothing to change Israel's position.
"This agreement is still bad and will make it more difficult than before to achieve an appropriate solution in the future," he said. Instead, he compared it to a failed 2007 international deal with North Korea and said it "is more likely to bring Iran closer to having a bomb."
"Israel cannot participate in the international celebration, which is based on Iranian deception and (international) self-delusion," said Steinitz, whose responsibilities include monitoring Iran's nuclear program.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
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