Israel’s Netanyahu says US won’t return to original nuclear deal with Iran

JERUSALEM 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the US will not fully return back to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, according to local media on Wednesday.

Speaking during a closed meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he believes Washington will go for an agreement that stops Tehran from enriching uranium.

“Our position is clear: No agreement with Iran will be binding on Israel, which will continue to do everything to defend itself,” he said in statements cited by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

“Our opposition to a return to the original agreement, I think it is working, but there are still differences of outlook and we do not hide them, also about smaller agreements,” he added.

The Iran nuclear deal – officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – was signed in 2015 by Iran, the US, China, Russia, France, the UK, Germany, and the EU.

Under the agreement, Tehran has committed itself to limiting its nuclear activity to civilian purposes and in return, world powers agreed to drop their economic sanctions against Iran.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to stop complying with the nuclear deal.

• Iran
• Iran nuclear deal
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu