Israeli Prime Minister and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett has said that Israel will not be bound by any agreement reached between the P5+1 group of nations – which also includes Britain, China, France, Russia and the US – and Iran in regards to its nuclear programme.
PM Bennett said that Israel will not be bound by any agreement reached between the P5+1 group of nations – which also includes Britain, China, France, Russia and the US – and Iran in regards to its nuclear programme.
He made the statement on Friday as the Iran nuclear deal reached in 2015 came under renewed scrutiny from the US.
“Israel will not be bound by any agreement that other countries reach with Iran,” Mr Bennett said, adding that Israel would not accept any deal that is not implemented to its full satisfaction.
His statement comes as US President Donald Trump has voiced dissatisfaction with the US deal with Iran and said he may leave it.
The United States signed the historic 2015 agreement which saw Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of international sanctions.
However, the US president has been opposed to the deal – both on security grounds and over the fact that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not yet identified any violation of its terms.
Under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA), signed into law by former US President Barack Obama in 2015, Trump has a 50-day deadline to determine whether or not to “reconsider” the agreement.
He has done so six times before, and in October last year the United States imposed new sanctions on Iran, pending a determination by the Trump administration.
But on Friday, he said that, while he was unhappy with Iran’s behaviour, he “will not use the power of the presidency to tear up a nuclear deal negotiated by my predecessors.”
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, President Trump added that he would work with Congress on a “new package” to deal with the threat posed by Iran.
Also speaking on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that “the principles of the deal… will not change. The nuclear programme of Iran will be carried out with the same transparency and rigour.”
The comments come as the US moves to block billions of dollars of Iranian money from flowing into the country in exchange for reinstating sanctions.
“Iran will never get away with violating its obligations,” Mr Trump said in his first Cabinet meeting since returning from his annual tour of Asia.