Israel Matzav

Netanyahu: 'A deal with Iran won't stop us from attacking'

Prime Minister Netanyahu told an Air Force graduation ceremony on Thursday that a deal between Iran and the P 5+1 will not stop an Israeli attack on Iran.

"Whatever happens, Israel will always defend itself, and the Air Force plays a major role in this," Haaretz daily quoted Netanyahu as saying at a pilots' course graduation ceremony.
Netanyahu again expressed concern over the agreement and the concessions the world is prepared to do in order for Iran to sign the deal.

"These concessions are increasing Iran's appetite and every day it raises the bar, with the intention of extorting more concessions," he said.

"In recent days Iran ruler Ali Khamenei rejected even the most basic conditions in the bad agreement drafted in Lausanne," Netanyahu added.

"He said no to the restrictions on the nuclear program in the coming decade, no to conditioning the sanctions' revocation on Iran's keeping the agreement, no to [supervisors'] access to military sites. Even if Iran waives some of these demands in a few days, the powers' basic concession will be huge and it will be a clear withdrawal from red lines the powers had publicly set earlier."

Netanyahu said the supervision method the powers are discussing with Iran is "full of holes" and will enable the Iranians to create a nuclear bomb less than 10 years after the agreement's signature.

The agreement will bring a flow of billions of dollars to the Iranian economy, enabling Iran to increase its subversion in the Middle East, Netanyahu said.

"It's still not too late [for the powers] to come to their senses, to insist on a good agreement and it's certainly not too late not to advance a bad agreement," he added.

"As world leaders always say, no agreement is better than a bad agreement."

Meanwhile, the P 5+1 admit that next week's June 30 deadline for an agreement 'might slip.' And Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khameni continues to list the many things Iran won't give up.

Amid unease in Iran's conservative-dominated parliament that Tehran is giving too much away, Khamenei, on Tuesday appeared to throw several spanners in the works.

Western powers have stressed sanctions will not be lifted until the IAEA has confirmed that Iran has carried out key steps under the accord.

But Khamenei, who will have the last word for Iran in the talks, said banking and economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the US must be lifted immediately after the agreement is signed.

"Other sanctions can be removed gradually by a reasonable timetable," Khamenei said.
He also reiterated that Iran would not permit the IAEA to visit military sites or conduct "unconventional inspections" at other facilities.

Khamenei also took issue with the length of time that some of the restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities would be in place.

In a further sign that Iran remains at odds with the West, Kerry unveiled a highly critical annual rights report slamming Iran for continuing to "severely restrict" civil liberties.

One cannot help but be suspicious that even if a deal is reached, Iran will violate and the West will do nothing in response.

Labels: Ayatollah Ali Khameni, Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, IAF, Iranian nuclear threat, John Kerry, P 5+1

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:10 PM