JERUSALEM (NWN) — Israel’s prime minister on Monday called on world powers to “not succumb to Iran’s nuclear blackmail” as talks began in Vienna.
Naftali Bennett said in a video statement that representatives of the nations initiating talks with Iran were given that Tehran “wants to end sanctions in exchange for almost nothing” and received hundreds of billions of dollars after sanctions were lifted. while wanting to maintain its nuclear program. The video was obtained by The Associated Press.
Negotiators from Iran and world powers were meeting in Vienna on Monday to resume talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran has ramped up its uranium enrichment since the United States withdrew from the historic nuclear deal between world powers and Iran in 2018.
Israel vociferously opposes that agreement, and Israeli officials now say that Tehran is closer than ever to developing a nuclear weapon, something it will not do. Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is visiting London and Paris this week to discuss Iran with British and French officials. Defense Secretary Benny Gantz will visit Washington this week for that purpose.
Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. It has blamed the breakdown of the deal on the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw and reinstate severe sanctions.
Israel is widely considered to be the only nuclear-armed country in the Middle East, although it maintains a policy of ambiguity regarding its own program.
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