PM: Israel Worries Iran Will Get Sanctions Relief Without Nuclear Rollback

Israel unhappy with 'unsatisfactory' restrictions

Israeli premier Naftali Bennett has made comments warning the P5+1 against granting Iran sanctions relief as part of the Vienna nuclear talks without getting major new restrictions on their nuclear activities.

Israel is not a party to the talks, but Bennett says Israel would be unhappy with “unsatisfactory” restrictions if Iran gains billions of dollars in its assets unfrozen as part of the restoration of the deal.

Iran was meant to have been given substantial sanctions relief in the original 2015 deal, but the US never honored the terms of the agreement, and ultimately backed out entirely. Talks that could see the US returning to the deal would necessarily involve the US finally delivering on those promises.

Though Israel is nominally supportive of US diplomatic efforts with Iran, they opposed the initial nuclear deal. There is a sense that Israel prefers any deal reached to be very tentative, as this leaves room open for the US to threaten war.

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.