Israel launched a diplomatic blitz with the aim of preventing the signing of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the USA at the last minute
: Prime Minister Yair Lapid held an intensive round of talks on the Iranian issue today (Thursday). USA in Israel Tom Naides.
In addition, the head of the MLA, Eyal Hulta, will go to the USA next week for a round of talks on behalf of the Prime Minister.
A very senior political official told Israel Hayom: "Israel's message to the US and Europe is that Iran has received a final proposal for an agreement that does not comply with the principles that the Americans themselves committed to, and this proposal was defined as 'take it or leave it.'
Despite this, Iran refused the offer and therefore it is time to abandon the talks with it - anything else will convey a message of weakness.
Now is the time to talk about what to do next to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon."
Embarking on a diplomatic blitz in order to stop the nuclear deal, Prime Minister Yair Lapid, photo: Mark Israel Shalem
Earlier today, a political official made an implicit criticism of the American conduct, telling "Israel Hayom" that "the United States conducts a policy of carrots only, without sticks." The official confirmed that "there is a change in Iranian behavior and it is significant - it is evident that the leadership in Tehran is training the The hearts towards the possibility of an agreement and towards the fact that it would include any concessions on some of the initial demands put forward by Iran.
This is an unusual thing that we have not seen until today." However, he added that in his estimation the process will continue for several more weeks and it is not certain that an agreement will be reached at the end.
The negotiations that are currently underway with Iran are not about improving the original nuclear agreement from 2015, but about narrowing it down. US President Joe Biden has already said that he agrees to return to the original agreement, but the Iranians demand that the restrictions imposed be further offset on them.
The Iranian demands to which the Americans have already given their consent include the following points:
Complete removal of the economic sanctions, which will be worth 275 billion dollars to the Iranian economy in the first year, and about a trillion dollars by 2030.
Iran will be able to keep the new centrifuges it developed against the rules of the original agreement, which will give it the ability to break into the bomb once it makes such a decision.
The expiration date of the agreement will not change despite the time that has passed.
This means that the restrictions on the nuclear program will begin to expire in the coming years, and by 2031 there will be no restrictions left on Iran, which will be free to develop a nuclear bomb.
No restrictions will be imposed on Iran's ability to develop ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Russia will be able to build new nuclear reactors in Iran in exchange for billions of dollars, despite the sanctions imposed on it for the war in Ukraine.
It is still unclear what will happen to the military sanctions that prohibit Russia from selling to Iran military equipment in which it has expressed interest, which includes, among other things, tanks, fighter jets and advanced air defense systems capable of endangering Air Force aircraft.
The Iranian demands that are currently on the negotiating table include the following points:
The lifting of sanctions on the Revolutionary Guards' giant corporation, "Hatam Al-Anbiya" - this is the construction and engineering arm of the Revolutionary Guards, which carries out its largest and most complex projects for the organization, and is one of its main sources of income.
This is actually an Iranian compromise proposal in the face of the US refusal to completely remove the Revolutionary Guards from the State Department's list of terrorist organizations.
The closure of the IAEA's open investigation files against Iran regarding three sites where uranium remains were discovered. The closure means a de facto acceptance of prohibited nuclear activity within Iran's territory and further deterioration of the IAEA's status.
Receiving economic guarantees from the USA and Europe so that a future American administration will not withdraw from the agreement, as President Trump did in the past. This is an old demand, but an American agreement has not yet been reached regarding it, although there seems to be progress on the issue.
Another demand, which has not been officially raised, is an American waiver of any moves against Iran for the Revolutionary Guards' plans to assassinate the former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, the former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, and the American envoy for Iran, Brian Hawke.
Brigadier General (resp.) Prof. Yaakov Nagel, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), who served as the acting head of the MLA, told "Israel Today": "Without going into confidential details, I can say with certainty that as my colleague Rich Goldberg wrote In an opinion piece in the US, what is happening now in the talks between the Iranians and the US and the Europeans is 'five minutes from catastrophe'.
Prof. Jacob Nagel warns against returning to talks with Iran: "The Russians and Chinese are watching the negotiations and enjoying every moment" // Photo: Gideon Markovitch, Photo: Gideon Markovitch
"The Americans, the Europeans, and possibly soon the IAEA as well, continue to be humiliated. The Iranians continue to spit in their faces and they insist that this is a blessing in disguise. The Europeans have already stated twice that this is the last offer given to the Iranians, in terms of 'take it or leave it'. August 15 was The last deadline date but it too has passed.
"In practice, it seems that the negotiations are continuing, in which the Iranians are repeatedly blackmailing the West, and the Russians, together with the Chinese, are watching and enjoying every moment.
The red lines set by the Americans and the Europeans have long been crossed, and yet discussions are apparently taking place about the next negotiation meeting, to discuss the new absurd demands of the Iranians.
"The bottom line - Europe and the US continue to give Tehran more and more concessions and the Iranians hardly budge.
The agreement from 2015 was terrible and dangerous, but the new agreement that is being formed now is much, much worse than it, even without considering the time that has passed since then and the short time left until its expiration," Nagel warns.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us
