Under the title "Israeli Officials Warn Washington: Do Not Give a Gift to Tehran," the Arabic website reported on the negotiations concerning the Iranian nuclear file. It noted that with the upcoming resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the remaining countries in the nuclear agreement, with indirect participation from the U.S. delegation in Vienna, Israeli officials urged the White House not to seal a partial nuclear agreement with the Iranian authorities, warning that it would be a gift to the new hardline government. According to the Wall Street Journal today, the Israelis expressed concern that the Biden administration might pave the way for a "less demanding" agreement that could offer Tehran partial sanctions relief in exchange for freezing or canceling parts of its nuclear activities.
They emphasized that such a deficient agreement could represent a "gift" for the hardline government of Ibrahim Raisi. A senior Israeli official told the newspaper that the country is extremely concerned about the U.S. potentially facilitating a "less demanding" agreement, or, in other words, an agreement that might involve concessions from the Biden administration. The official added that "such an agreement would be harmful and would only benefit the Iranian regime... and would be a huge gift to the new radical government closely aligned with the Revolutionary Guard."
It is worth noting that Israel, which views a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat, has previously opposed the nuclear agreement signed in 2015, considering that the temporary restrictions it placed on Tehran’s nuclear activities did not prevent it from pursuing its long-term path toward producing nuclear weapons over the years. However, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government has significantly escalated its warnings in recent weeks, hinting that it may take military action against Iranian nuclear activities. The government also announced that it allocated an additional $1.4 billion from its budget to counter the Iranian threat.
