Netanyahu Says Israel 'Critical Role' Blocked Iran Nuclear Deal

Israel had a critical role in stopping a deal with Iran on reining in its nuclear program from going ahead last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

The deal would have "effectively left Iran as a threshold nuclear power," he told a Washington think-tank in a recorded speech.

"Even though Israel isn't part of the P5+1 our voice and our concerns played a critical role in preventing a bad deal."

The global powers known as the P5+1 who are leading efforts to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon have extended their talks until June 30, after they failed to meet the November 24 deadline for a deal.

Calling it the most "vital national security challenge we face," Israel and its allies "must use the time available to increase the pressure on Iran to dismantle is nuclear weapons capability," Netanyahu said.

Israel has publicly criticized U.S.-led efforts to reach a deal to rein in Iran's suspect nuclear program, under which the Islamic republic would freeze much of its uranium enrichment program in return for sanctions relief.

Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that the administration of President Barack Obama is being fooled by the new, more moderate face of the Iranian leadership.

They say Iran will pay lip-service to any deal, pocketing billions in much needed cash-reserves while covertly still trying to develop an atomic bomb.

But addressing the Saban forum after the Israeli prime minister, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry insisted once again that the U.S. administration would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear bomb.

"While we may disagree on tactics from time to time, when it comes to the core strategic goal -- no nuclear weapon -- there is not an inch of daylight between the United States and Israel," Kerry said.

Iran has denied that it has been trying to develop an atomic weapon under the guise of its civilian nuclear energy program.

But Kerry reiterated that "systematically over many years Iran did not address the world's concerns about an illicit nuclear program."

He said a "verified, negotiated agreement" was the best way to "resolve the international community's legitimate concerns" as well as proving that Iran's "nuclear program is peaceful."

Despite the extended deadline, Kerry insisted the hope was now to wrap up the negotiations within the next three to four months.

"We have no intention of negotiating forever. And absent measurable progress, who knows how much longer this could go on," Kerry said.

The Obama administration is seeking to persuade Congress from adopting new sanctions against Iran in this interim period, arguing that it could scupper the entire delicate negotiating process.

"In recent weeks, we have seen new ideas surface, flexibility emerge, that could, I repeat could help resolve some issues, that had been intractable," Kerry said.

Separately, the Israeli premier said Middle East peace talks collapsed earlier this year because the Palestinians “wanted them to end.”

The "talks ended because the Palestinians wanted them to end," Netanyahu claimed.

The Palestinian leadership "is simply not prepared... to confront violence and fanaticism within Palestinian society," Netanyahu told the Saban Forum, organized by the Brookings Institution.

Any deal had to ensure a "secure peace" for Israel, he insisted.

"For there can be no peace without real security, and there can be no security without a long-term IDF presence to provide it," he said, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces.

During the recent failed peace bid, Palestinians had "consistently refused to engage us on our legitimate security concerns," Netanyahu said.

After calling snap elections for March, Netanyahu said he hoped to emerge with a "broad and renewed mandate" for a "strong and stable" government capable of protecting "the Jewish state in these tumultuous times."

The new government would have some "tough" decisions to make, he added.

Speaking after the Israeli leader, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the prolonged effort to reach a peace deal, vowed: "I won't give up."

Kerry's dogged peace pursuit collapsed in April amid bitter recriminations on both sides.

But he again insisted that the current status quo in Israeli-Palestinian relations was unsustainable, adding "ongoing unrest had brought new traumas to everybody" referring to a spate of brutal attacks on Jews and Palestinians.

"Common sense and strategic analysis tells us definitively: this cannot go on," Kerry pleaded to the pro-Israel forum.

"Too many Israelis have died, too many Palestinians have died and we have to do everything possible to prevent the loss of more innocent lives and smother the sparks of an immediate tension, which is growing, so that tension does not explode into full-fledged fire."

He insisted that during the nine months of failed negotiations gaps were narrowed, and he understood more about "the tiny needle that has to be threaded" to accommodate the interests of both sides.

"But I still believe that can be done," the top U.S. diplomat said.

He said he knew for most people in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel the idea of peace "sounds dubious at best, and impossible to many."

But even though peace negotiations won't resume until after the upcoming elections, the United States "flat-out rejects the notion that peace is a pipe-dream," Kerry said.