Speaking at the Jewish News Syndicate policy conference in Yerushalayim, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu emphasized that any agreement with Iran must eliminate its ability to enrich uranium, as the United States continues direct nuclear negotiations with Tehran.
“A real deal that works is one that removes Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons,” he stated.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear that the United States aims for an agreement that completely bars Iran from enriching uranium. Meanwhile, Iranian negotiator Abbas Araghchi insisted that uranium enrichment remains “non-negotiable.”
“Dismantle all the infrastructure of Iran’s nuclear program,” Netanyahu declared. “That is a deal we can live with.”
Netanyahu warned that if Washington agrees to a watered-down deal, Iran will simply bide its time and wait for the conclusion of Donald Trump’s presidency.
He further stressed that Iran’s development of ballistic missiles must also be addressed during the talks.
However, after the latest round of negotiations on Shabbos, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman insisted, “The question of defense capacities and the country’s missiles is not [on the agenda] and has not been raised in the indirect talks.”
Netanyahu said he had clearly conveyed his concerns to Trump and that he maintains close communication with the United States on these issues.
“A bad deal is worse than no deal,” he argued, repeating his long-standing position that the “only good deal” would resemble the model Libya accepted in 2003.
The prime minister also credited Israel’s intelligence operations with having delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions by approximately ten years.
Switching to the situation in Gaza, Netanyahu asserted that when the war concludes, “Hamas will not be there. And we’re not going to put the Palestinian Authority there.”
“Why replace one regime that is sworn to our destruction with another regime that is sworn to our destruction?” he challenged.
Expanding on this theme, Netanyahu said, “Hamas says we will destroy Israel by terror and military conquest right away, and the PA says, ‘No, you destroy it politically and driving it through propaganda and lawfare to the ’67 boundaries, and then you can do the military thrust because you’re a few kilometers from the sea.’”
Calling the notion of establishing a Palestinian state to promote peace “folly,” Netanyahu dismissed the idea outright.
The prime minister also expressed mistrust toward the Biden administration when it comes to safeguarding Israeli military secrets.
He noted that he deliberately withheld information from Washington regarding the September 2024 operation targeting Hezbollah’s communication networks, saying, “I don’t read the New York Times that often, but why give them the advance? It would be on the net.”
Netanyahu disclosed that Israel destroyed a scanning device Iran had sent to Lebanon after Hezbollah grew suspicious that its communication devices were compromised. Once three devices had been dispatched to Iran for inspection, he decided to strike.
He also revealed that Israeli forces prevented Iranian paratroopers from arriving in Syria to bolster Bashar al-Assad’s regime as rebels were on the verge of overtaking Damascus.
Besides its military efforts in Gaza, Lebanon, and against Iran, Israel is battling another adversary at home, Netanyahu said — the “deep state.” He charged that entrenched leftist elements within Israel’s bureaucracy are endangering the country’s democracy, echoing similar warnings made by Trump since his return to office. JNS
{Matzav.com Israel}