Israel: Iran nuclear deal will result in ‘more violent’ Mideast

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the revived U.S.-Iran nuclear deal could result in more violence in the Middle East, Reuters reported. 

During a speech at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Sunday, Bennett said the deal could lead to more violence in the region if negotiations between both sides come through. 

The U.S. and Iran reached a landmark deal in 2015 which limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium, making it harder for the nation to produce material for nuclear weapons, according to Reuters. 

“The emerging deal, as it seems, is highly likely to create a more violent, more volatile Middle East,” Bennett said. 

Bennett shared his concerns about the ongoing negotiations, saying the biggest problem he has is the possibility of a shorter timeline before Iran can freely operate advanced centrifuges due to the fact the original timeline may not be extended.

“Israel will not accept Iran as a nuclear threshold state,” Bennett said. “Israel will always maintain its freedom of action to defend itself.”

This comes as the initial nuclear deal was called off three years later by former President Trump, who reimposed far-reaching sanctions on Iran, Reuters reported.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that there is “significant progress” made with nuclear negotiations with the U.S., adding nothing is agreed to yet. 

The goal of the latest nuclear talks is to return to the original bargain of lifting sanctions against Iran in exchange for nuclear activities that extend the time it would need to produce enough enriched uranium for an atomic bomb, Reuters noted. 

“The remaining issues are the hardest,” Khatibzadeh said at a press briefing.