Officials: Israel ‘Glad’ to See Iran Rejecting US Demands

Israel: Obama 'Forced to Toughen Sanctions'

Israeli officials are reporting in the domestic media that they are pleased to see that Iran has rejected President Obama’s demands, saying that “as far as Israel is concerned, the Iranian response is good.”

President Obama has demanded that Iran abandon the entirety of its civilian nuclear program, and agree to “surrender” all of its nuclear fuel. Iranian officials have termed the demands “irrational.”

The Israeli officials expressed hope that once the talks are held next weekend and quickly fail, President Obama will use it as an excuse for more sanctions, saying “if Obama sees he’s being challenged he will be forced to toughen the sanctions in an unequivocal manner.”

Officially, Israel has insisted that it will accept the Western members of the P5+1’s position at the bargaining table with Iran. Obama’s sudden demands, however, point to Israel taken a proactive approach in recruiting the US to sabotage the talks.

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.