Thursday, November 25, 2021

Israel to US: Don't settle for partial deal with Iran

Sources in Israel are pressuring the White House not to sign a partial agreement with Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night.

According to the report, the Israelis are warning that such a deal would "would be a gift to the new hard-line government in Tehran."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Israeli official told The Wall Street Journal that, "Israel is very concerned that the US is setting the stage for what they call a 'less for less' agreement," which would see Iran freezing or winding back parts of their nuclear work in exchange for lifting some of the sanctions. "Such an agreement would be detrimental and would only benefit the Iranian regime."

"It would be an enormous gift to Iran's new, radical and IRGC affiliated regime."

The official also warned WSJ that "Such an agreement will convince the Iranian public and countries in the region that nuclear blackmail works. It looks like the US might be giving Iran a bargain deal."

Meanwhile, official sources in the US have claimed that the proposal is only one of several options under consideration.

And US negotiator Rob Malloy was quoted on National Public Radio as saying that, "If they start getting too close, too close for comfort, then of course we will not be prepared to sit idly. We're prepared to get back into the deal and to lift all of the sanctions that are inconsistent with the deal. So if Iran wants to get back into the deal, it has a way to do that."

According to Malloy, "If it doesn't want to get back into the deal, if it continues to do what it appears to be doing now, which is to drag its feet at the nuclear diplomatic table and accelerate its pace when it comes to its nuclear program, if that's the path it chooses, we'll have to respond accordingly."