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Israel pours energy into media blitz against looming Iran nuclear deal

Israel’s political and security leadership is giving its all in a final media campaign against a renewed nuclear deal with Iran.

John Onuoha/CNETCOM
Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz meets with US Central Command chief Gen. Michael Kurilla at the CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, Aug. 25 2022. — John Onuoha/CENTCOM

The Israeli press quoted Mossad chief David Barnea as warning the United States and Europe Aug. 25 against rushing into a terrible deal with Iran. Barnea reportedly called the emerging Iran nuclear deal “a strategic disaster” for Israel, warning that it would not block his agency from acting against Iran in the future to protect Israel’s security.

Barnea said the deal is “very bad for Israel” and that the United States “is rushing into an accord that is ultimately based on lies.”

In an exclusive article for Al-Monitor on Aug. 23, journalist Ben Caspit revealed the Mossad’s assessment that a US deal would be a catastrophe for Israel and for the region and a resounding victory for Tehran. The sources cited estimated that once the agreement is signed, Tehran will ignore its obligation to cooperate with recent IAEA investigations.

The Aug. 25 reports quoted Barnea as explaining that with a sunset clause that sees restrictions on Iran's nuclear enrichment program lifted after a certain period, the emerging agreement “gives Iran license to amass the required nuclear material for a bomb” in a few years.

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