Tel Aviv (TDI): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that any potential agreement between the United States and Iran must go beyond limiting uranium enrichment and instead require the complete dismantling of Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Speaking at the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, Netanyahu revealed that he conveyed this position directly to US President Donald Trump during a meeting last week.
“There shall be no enrichment capability, not merely halting the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and infrastructure that enables enrichment in the first place,” Netanyahu said, expressing scepticism about the prospects of a deal that falls short of that threshold. He added that any agreement should also require enriched nuclear material to be removed from Iran.
His remarks come ahead of a second round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran scheduled for this week. According to reports, Iran is seeking a renewed nuclear agreement that would provide economic benefits to both sides while easing longstanding tensions.
Netanyahu’s comments follow a CBS report that Trump told him during a December meeting in Florida that the United States would support Israeli strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile program if diplomatic efforts fail.
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The United States and Iran resumed negotiations earlier this month in an effort to resolve their decades-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and avoid a broader military confrontation. US officials have indicated that Washington has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing contingency plans in case talks collapse.
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Addressing regional security more broadly, Netanyahu also said Israel must “complete the job” in Gaza by destroying the network of underground tunnels used by Hamas. He stated that Israeli forces have dismantled approximately 150 kilometres of an estimated 500-kilometre tunnel system.
