Israel slams possible Iran nuclear deal without criticizing US
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warns of the emerging Vienna agreement on Iran, but observers say Israel has little or no leverage to change it.
Reports pouring in from Vienna seem to indicate that a new nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 will be signed within just a few days. This presents Israel’s new leadership with a serious political and diplomatic challenge.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, unlike his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, prefers to avoid conflict with the Biden Administration, despite reports that the US is eager to reach an agreement at just about any cost. Last month, Bennett said in an interview that he would not oppose any agreement between Iran and the major world powers. “We are not automatic naysayers. We’re taking a practical approach. Unlike others, we’re not looking to fight for the sake of fighting; rather, we’re trying to bring a result.”
The prime minister seems to believe that this approach will ensure a better chance of a beneficial agreement. He may have learned a lesson from the bitter clashes Netanyahu had with President Obama about this very issue.
But now that an outline of the agreement is starting to leak out, Jerusalem has announced that it is, in fact, bad for Israel. The problem is that it may be too late to do anything about it.
