Israel is not planning to attack Irans nuclear sites, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahus national security adviser said on 30
June, as indirect talks between Tehran and Washington regarding the
nuclear issue have continued in recent weeks.
Asked whether an Israeli decision on a preemptive strike against
Iran was any closer, Tzachi Hanegbi said:
We are not getting closer because the Iranians have stopped, for
a while now, they are not enriching uranium to the level that, in
our view, is the red line.
Hanegbi added: But it can happen. So we are preparing for the
moment.
For several decades, Israel and the US have accused Iran of
being weeks away from building a nuclear weapon. However, Iran says
its nuclear industry is for peaceful purposes, including energy,
and has stressed that Islam forbids pursuing weapons of mass
destruction.
Hanegbi said it was still unclear what would come of the US-Iran
talks. Still, he insisted that if an agreement is signed between
Israels primary sponsor and main enemy during the indirect talks
that began in Oman, this will not obligate Israel to abide by
it.
Last week, Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting that Israel
opposes any interim agreement between the US and Iran regarding the
latters nuclear program.
Israel opposed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA), and celebrated when Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in
2018.
The deal limited Iranian uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent.
After the US withdrew from the agreement, Iran began enriching to
60 percent, which is still far from the 90 percent needed for use
in a nuclear weapon.
We also tell [the US] that even mini agreements, in our opinion,
do not serve our goals, and we oppose those as well, Netanyahu
recently stated.
At the same time, US National Security Adviser Jake
Sullivan reportedly accused
Israeli officials of leaking information about the indirect US-Iran
talks while complaining that the leaked information was
inaccurate.
This included claims that the Biden administration seeks to
reach an informal deal with Iran limiting its nuclear enrichment to
bypass getting approval from Congress.
According to the New York Times, the
US seeks an
agreement that would include a pledge by Tehran not to enrich
uranium beyond 60 percent purity, to better cooperate with UN
nuclear inspectors, to stop attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria,
to avoid providing Russia with ballistic missiles, and to release
three Americ...