Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says any US–Iran nuclear agreement must eliminate Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpile, end enrichment capability and address ballistic missiles ahead of renewed talks in Geneva this week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday insisted that any nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran must guarantee the removal of all enriched uranium from the country and eliminate Tehran’s ability to produce more.
His remarks came as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed for Switzerland to participate in the second round of revived nuclear talks with the U.S., scheduled for later this week.
Speaking in Jerusalem, Netanyahu outlined the key requirements for a deal. “The first is that all enriched material has to leave Iran,” he said. He added that the country must also be stripped of the infrastructure and equipment that enables uranium enrichment, stating: “There should be no enrichment capability… dismantle the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place.”
The third condition he emphasised concerns Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
Questions remain over the fate of Iran’s stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of 60-percent enriched uranium, last verified by international inspectors in June, prior to Israeli and American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Addressing a gathering of leaders from major American Jewish organisations, Netanyahu noted that he had conveyed these demands during his recent meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month.
He also stressed the importance of ongoing, robust inspections of Iran’s nuclear activities. “There has to be real inspection, substantive inspections, no lead-time inspections, but effective inspections for all of the above,” Netanyahu said, highlighting the need for strict monitoring to ensure compliance.
“There has to be real inspection, substantive inspections, no lead-time inspections, but effective inspections for all of the above,” he said.
“These are the elements that we believe are important for the achievement of the deal.”
Tehran and Washington restarted nuclear negotiations in Muscat on February 6, months after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last June that started a 12-day war.
The latest talks came with Washington having threatened Tehran with military action and deployed an aircraft carrier group to the region following Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests last month.
With inputs from agencies
End of Article
