Israeli Defense Minister declares Israel can ‘seriously harm and delay’ Iranian nuclear program

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Tuesday that Israel could cause serious damage to Iran’s nuclear program and warned that reviving a 2015 pact with world powers to curb Iranian nuclear activities will only be a delaying tactic, News.az reports citing the Times of Israel.

“Iran is a global problem. It is not just Israel’s private problem,” Gantz said during an interview at a Channel 13 conference in Jerusalem.

Asked if Israel has the ability to stop Iran’s nuclear development or merely delay it, Gantz said, “We are able to seriously harm and delay the nuclear [program].”

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Tuesday that Israel has the ability to cause serious damage to Iran’s nuclear program, and warned that reviving a 2015 pact with world powers to curb Iranian nuclear activities will only be a delaying tactic.

“Iran is a global problem. It is not just Israel’s private problem,” Gantz said during an interview at a Channel 13 conference in Jerusalem.

Asked if Israel has the ability to stop Iran’s nuclear development or merely delay it, Gantz said, “We are able to seriously harm and delay the nuclear [program].”

Regarding US President Joe Biden’s declared desire to revive the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed between Iran and world powers, Gantz said it is not an “unfounded concept.”

Still, “we are very unsatisfied with the agreement, which would be a bad agreement because it would be a temporary delay,” Gantz said. Such an deal would enable to Iranians to develop their economy and eventually legitimize a return to their nuclear program at a later date, he warned.

The JCPOA gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for limits on its nuclear program to prevent it obtaining nuclear weapons, a goal Iran denies it seeks. The pact steadily unraveled after the Trump administration pulled the US out in 2018 and slapped Iran with stiff sanctions. In response, Iran dropped its own commitments to the deal, boosting the program and increasing uranium enrichment beyond levels set in the deal.

Talks in Vienna earlier this year aimed to bring the US back into the JCPOA and Iran back into accordance with its terms, but the negotiations have been stalled for months amid a standoff between Washington and Iran.

Gantz said he doesn’t expect an agreement in the near future.

“I don’t see any big indications of that at the moment,” he said, but conceded it could not be ruled out.

News.az

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