Iran Talks Open in Kazakhstan, Face Immediate Israeli Condemnation

Israel Insists Talks Just an Iranian 'Ploy' to Keep Civilian Program

The first day of the Kazakhstan conference between the P5+1 and Iran has come and gone, with no signs of a deal being close and many saying it is unlikely that Iran will accept the various Western demands for what appears to amount to a very trivial easing of sanctions.

Israeli officials see no need to wait for the talks to officially fail, however, and is out in front of them, condemning the talks from the start, insisting that they are an “Iranian ploy” aimed at keeping their civilian program running while diplomacy continues to stall.

Officials said that it was important for Western nations to not simply keep saying “or else” to Iran and to be very specific about their plans to attack Iran militarily. So far that hasn’t happened beyond the vague threats that are constantly a part of what passes for US diplomacy, and a conference probably isn’t a good time to bring it up at any rate, since the US wants to give the appearance of being willing to negotiate.

Israel’s once and likely future Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was the most explicit in his comments in the Knesset, saying that the US needs to take “more practical steps” and accept that sanctions simply “are not enough.”

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.