OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel will maintain
"unrestricted freedom" to act against
Iran regardless of any nuclear
agreement between Tehran and world powers, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali
Bennett said Monday.
اضافة اعلان
Bennett made the comments to the Israeli parliament's
foreign affairs and defense committee as an Iranian official said there had
been "good progress" towards reviving a 2015 nuclear agreement during
negotiations in Vienna.
"Regarding the nuclear
talks in Vienna, we are
certainly concerned. It is important for me to say here clearly and
unequivocally: Israel is not a party to the agreements," Bennett
said.
"Israel will maintain unlimited and unrestricted
freedom of action, everywhere and at all times."
Negotiations to salvage the nuclear deal resumed in late
November after they were suspended in June as Iran elected a new,
ultraconservative president.
The deal — agreed by Iran, the
US,
China,
Russia,
Britain,
France, and
Germany — offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on
its nuclear program.
But then-president
Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US
in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions, prompting Tehran to begin rolling back
on its commitments.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman
Saeed Khatibzadeh said
Monday that the progress made at the Vienna talks was "the result of the
efforts made by all parties to reach a stable agreement", the latest in a
series of positive comments on the negotiations.
Israel has broadly opposed a restoration of the 2015
agreement but high-ranking officials — notably Defense Minister Benny Gantz and
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid — have indicated Israel could support a deal that
it viewed as offering definitive checks on Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Iran insists its nuclear program is solely for civilian
purposes.
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