MESOP MIDEAST WATCH : Israel Pushes to Halt Iran Nuclear Deal as Tehran Reportedly Drops Some Demands in Talks

‘We will do everything we can to exert influence on this matter,’ Gantz says after U.S. official reports Tehran may have ‘crossed the Rubicon’ on the deal’s terms; Bennett: ‘Israel is not bound by deal’

Reuters Haaretz Aug 23, 2022 11:30 am IDT- Defense Minister Benny Gantz signaled Israel’s opposition to the emerging Iran nuclear deal after Tehran dropped some of its main demands to the deal, potentially bringing the possibility of an agreement closer, according to a senior U.S. official on Monday.

“The State of Israel is not opposed to agreements in general, but it is opposed to the emerging nuclear agreement,” Gantz said Tuesday, later announcing he would fly out to the U.S. this week for meetings with top U.S. officials.

The current deal “is full of gaps concerning the future danger of Iran in the technology sector, in the production of weapons and in contributions to the Iranian economy which will continue to strengthen support for terrorist organizations in the region and beyond,” Gantz said.

“We are in contact with international authorities, the Americans and others, regarding our opposition to the agreement,” Gantz added. “We will do everything we can to exert influence on this matter.”

Also Tuesday, Gantz addressed comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who condemned what he said were Israeli missile attacks against Syria. “Without getting into details …, we look after Israel’s security and accordingly employ power with very great responsibility,” Gantz said.

The United States aims to respond soon to a draft agreement proposed by the European Union that would bring back the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that former President Donald Trump abandoned and current President Joe Biden has sought to revive.

Naftali Bennett also commented on the looming deal, calling on Biden to “avoid signing the deal with Iran – even now at the last moment.” The deal, Bennett said, “would see trillions of dollars flow into the coffers of a regime that promotes terror throughout the region.”

Israel, Bennett added, “is not bound to the agreement either way, is not beholden to any restrictions it may impose and will act to prevent any advancement of Iran’s nuclear program.”

Earlier today, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that although Tehran has been saying Washington has made concessions, Iran has dropped some of its key demands.

“They came back last week and basically dropped the main hang-ups to a deal,” the official said.

Iran has dropped some of its main demands on resurrecting a deal to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program, including its insistence that international inspectors close some probes of its atomic program, bringing the possibility of an agreement closer, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Monday.

“We think they have finally crossed the Rubicon and moved toward possibly getting back into the deal on terms that President Biden can accept,” the official added. “If we are closer today, it’s because Iran has moved. They conceded on issues that they have been holding onto from the beginning.”

Iran’s foreign ministry had no immediate comment.

Iran had already largely relented on its demand that the United States lift its designation of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, the official said.