Netanyahu Warns Kerry Against Any Iran Deal

Whatever Proposal Is, Israel Against It

Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest visit to Israel coincides with reports that the latest P5+1 talks with Iran could end with an “interim” agreement, providing another opportunity for Israeli officials to reiterate their opposition to such a deal, whatever it is.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took time out from talks on the stalled peace process with the Palestinians to warn Kerry against any deal with Iran, particularly one that would involve a “pause” in new sanctions against them.

Netanyahu reiterated his position that new sanctions were needed whenever Iran was enriching uranium, even though US officials have already conceded that civilian enrichment of uranium was not a problem in and of itself.

Indeed, all the problems with Iran’s civilian nuclear program begin and end with Israeli objections to it, and since Israel is objecting to any deal that doesn’t involve a total surrender by Iran, it is hard to see how the US will ever be able to sign on to a deal without dismissing Israeli concerns at some point as unreasonable.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.