Israel: Obama Wants Iran Deal at Any Cost

Tuesday, June 02, 2015 | Israel Today Staff

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Senior Israeli diplomatic sources this week accused US President Barack Obama of being ready to sign a nuclear deal with Iran even if it endangers the Jewish state, despite Obama’s own statements to the contrary.

“US President Barack Obama is determined to reach a bad deal with Iran,” the sources told the daily newspaper Israel Hayom, which has close ties to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is seen by many as a mouthpiece for his government.

The sources continued by noting that “it appears that the agreement with Iran will will be signed [by the June 30 deadline], because the American president is interested in the agreement,” regardless of the negative impact it might have on the region long-term.

The White House has repeatedly stated that “no deal would be better than a bad deal,” suggesting it wouldn’t enter into any agreement that allowed Iran to eventually acquire nuclear arms.

But in a weekend interview with Israel’s Channel 2, Obama hinted that his red lines had become somewhat more flexible, and that one way or another, a deal must be signed.

Obama sought to assure the Israeli public that “I understand your concerns and I understand your fears,” but insisted that “a military solution will not fix it. Even if the United States will participate, it would temporarily slow down an Iranian nuclear program, but it will not eliminate it.”

The American leader expressed confidence that he could “demonstrate, not based on any hope but on facts and evidence and analysis that the best way to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon is a verifiable tough agreement.”

However, with Iran continuing to shoot down any and all stipulations that would constitute a “tough verifiable agreement” (such as its refusal to allow spot inspections), Israel remains understandably skeptical.

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Tuesday, June 2, 2015