Benjamin Netanyahu says world powers are demanding ‘practically nothing’ of Iran

During the last talks, the six countries who deal with Iran – styling
themselves the “P5 plus 1” – demanded that Tehran stop enriching
uranium to 20 per cent purity and hand over its existing stockpile. Anxious
to avoid an early breakdown of negotiations, however, they refrained from
raising Iran’s far bigger stockpile of uranium enriched to 3.5 per cent
purity. Israel’s concern is that this reserve could be further enriched to
the 90 per cent level needed for nuclear weapons. The last talks also
avoided Iran’s previously secret enrichment facility near the city of Qom.

“Iran could stop the 20 per cent enrichment at any moment now and not in
any way retard their advance in the nuclear program. The ‘P5 plus 1’ is so
keen on getting any agreement, that they have lowered the demands,” Mr
Netanyahu told the German newspaper Bild. “There should be three clear
demands: One, stop all enrichment high and low. Second, remove all material
that has been enriched from Iran. Third, dismantle the underground nuclear
bunker in Qom.”

The prime minister added: “If they [Iran] really want nuclear power for
peaceful purposes, as they claim, they should agree. The reasons they don’t
agree is that they are pursuing atomic bombs.”

Sanctions have inflicted immense damage on Iran’s economy, particularly a raft
of financial measures that exclude the country from the global banking
system. A European Union oil embargo, due to come into full force on 1 July,
will cause more pain. Western diplomats believe this pressure has brought
Iran back to the negotiating table. Some judge that a real chance exists to
settle the nuclear issue by diplomacy.

But Mr Netanyahu is not one of them: he believes that Iran is using the talks
to buy time and ward off the threat of military attack while pressing on
with its nuclear ambitions.

As for whether Israel might launch air strikes against Iranian nuclear
facilities, Mr Netanyahu said: “I can understand the concern with
people about military action. It is obviously not the first choice of
anyone. But I also know the importance to make sure the Ayatollah regime
does not have nuclear weapons. The greatest threat facing humanity is a
radical Islamist regime meeting up with nuclear weapons. The Iranian
acquisition of nuclear weapons would be infinitely more costly than any
scenario you can imagine to stop it.”

His latest public intervention could undermine the Moscow talks and cause
friction with Washington, although President Obama’s administration is
unlikely to criticise Israel before the election in November.

Iranian officials have already voiced their suspicion that Israel’s position
is limiting the ability of the “P5 plus 1” to reach a settlement.
Before Mr Netanyahu’s interview, Saeed Jalili, the Iranian chief negotiator,
had written to Baroness Ashton, the European Union high representative for
foreign affairs, to complain that an absence of preparatory meetings had
already cast “doubt and ambiguity on their readiness for successful
talks”.

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