Benjamin Netanyahu was resolute in his view that the Iran nuclear deal "gives Iran a path to a nuclear arsenal."
"I think this deal gives Iran a path to a nuclear arsenal, and I think it gives them hundreds of billions of dollars right away with which to pursue their aggression and terror against us and against the United States and the world," the Israeil prime minister said in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition.
The deal between Iran and U.S., Russia, China, U.K., France and Germany, which has been a centerpiece of President Obama's foreign policy, curbs some parts of Iran's nuclear programs in exchange for a lifting of some economic sanctions. The deal, created after 18 days of marathon talks in Vienna, is aimed at resolving a 13-year standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions and was hailed by Iran, the U.S. and the European Union but branded a "historic mistake" by Tehran's arch-foe Israel, reported AFP.
"This is a historic moment," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had said on Tuesday morning. "We are reaching an agreement that is not perfect for anybody, but it is what we could accomplish, and it is an important achievement for all of us. Today could have been the end of hope on this issue. But now we are starting a new chapter of hope."
Calling on Congress to support the deal, Obama said the agreement cuts off all the pathways Iran has toward a nuclear weapon. "We give up nothing by testing whether or not this problem can be solved peacefully," Obama said. The key points of the deal can be read here at the BBC.
Netanyahu disagreed with the assessment, arguing that the inspections regime set up by the deal is "completely porous" and could easily lead to cheating. He also pointed out that the deal allowed Iran to enrich uranium at any level after a decade.
"So I think, if the idea is, well, at least we get them away from the bomb - no, you don't," Netanyahu said. "You, at most, might delay it, but I don't think you will because they could cheat. And if you delay it, they'll fan out with the capacity to make the nuclear fissile core necessary for atomic bomb."
