Trump said to assure Netanyahu he will thwart Iran nuke program as Israel fears ‘very bad’ deal

Trump said to assure Netanyahu he will thwart Iran nuke program as Israel fears ‘very bad’ deal

Nava Freiberg

Israel deeply concerned over plan that gives Iran time, money, falls short of key security needs, with regime’s nuclear activities only up for discussion later, no commitment to export uranium stockpile, terror proxies intact

US President Donald Trump sought to reassure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that a final agreement with Iran will fully dismantle Tehran’s nuclear program, a senior Israeli official said in a statement on Sunday, as details emerged of a deal being cobbled together with Iran that appeared to leave central Israeli and American demands unmet and prompted profound concerns in Jerusalem.

According to multiple reports, confirmed by Israeli officials, the initial deal will focus on extending an existing ceasefire for another 60-days and opening the choked Strait of Hormuz to vital shipping, with the key issue of Iran’s nuclear activities relegated to discussions during that period, and no requirement for Iran to export its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. In addition, the plan is said to include a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, but does not include disarming the Iran-backed group.

Trump “clarified that he will stand firm in the negotiations on his longstanding demand for the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program and the removal of all enriched uranium from Iranian territory, and that he will not sign a final agreement without these conditions being met,” the unnamed senior official said.

The call took place on Saturday night.

Washington was keeping Jerusalem updated on the negotiations “over a memorandum of understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and enter negotiations toward a final agreement on the points that remain in dispute,” the statement read, adding that Netanyahu thanked Trump for his “exceptional commitment to Israel’s security.”

Trump had declared on Saturday afternoon that the US and Iran were finalizing a deal to end the war, saying that the Memorandum of Understanding “has been largely negotiated” and would be announced shortly. The New York Times reported that the US has almost completely excluded Israel from the negotiations.

For his part, Netanyahu told Trump that Israel will retain its freedom of action against “all threats in all arenas,” the official said. “The prime minister emphasized that Israel will preserve its freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon, and President Trump reiterated his support for this principle,” the official said.

The phone call came after last week, the two leaders were said to have held a tense conversation about how best to proceed with Iran. Netanyahu was said to have favored renewing strikes while Trump wanted to give more time for diplomacy.

Netanyahu will hold a limited security cabinet meeting Sunday evening to discuss the emerging US-Iran deal, an aide to one of the attending ministers confirmed to The Times of Israel.

There has been no public statement from Netanyahu or other senior ministers amid the growing reports of a nearing deal.

However, the Maariv outlet cited an unnamed member of the security cabinet as saying in a private conversation that if the reported terms of the deal are accurate, then it was “very bad.”

According to the outlet, Israeli officials are most worried that the subject of Iran’s nuclear program has been pushed down below reaching a ceasefire and opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Closure of the strait, which Iran blockaded as a war tactic and which usually carries a fifth of the world’s oil supply, rattled global economies, putting pressure on the US to resolve the issue.

The source told Maariv that the concern is that the deal gives Iran “time, money and regional quiet, without a real dismantling of its nuclear and terror capabilities.”

According to Axios, the memorandum of understanding that is expected to be signed by the US and Iran and ushers in a 60-day ceasefire extension, contains a clause that would end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The report said Israel will be permitted to strike Hezbollah if the terror group instigates or carries out attacks.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that Tehran has not agreed to hand over its highly enriched uranium stockpile under the preliminary agreement, though both Axios and The New York Times cited officials as saying that was part of the deal, which also envisions the US lifting some sanctions on Iran, enabling it to trade in oil, thereby removing what had been a key pressure tactic by Washington to push Iran into a nuclear deal.

More.....

Iran’s Pezeshkian says Tehran ready to assure world it’s not seeking nuclear weapons

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is ready to assure the world that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, as a preliminary deal between Iran and the US begins to emerge.

“We are not seeking unrest in the region,” he tells IRNA, claiming instead that “the one seeking to destabilize the region” is Israel.

Iran, which is avowed to destroy Israel, has a stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of uranium that has been enriched to a point that it is a short technical step from weapons-grade. Israeli officials have said it is sufficient for 11 nuclear bombs if enriched further.

Tehran has long claimed that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, despite the fact that it has enriched uranium to a level that the UN atomic agency says has no civilian use.

Pezeshkian also says that Tehran’s negotiating team “will not compromise the country’s honor and pride in any way.”