On April 30, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press-conference accusing Iran of having a secret program to produce nuclear weapons. The move was the recent event in a series of Israeli attempts to undermine the Iran nuclear deal or to assist the current US administration in increasing the pressure on Iran.
The US welcomed the Israeli announcement, saying that Tel Aviv had uncovered “new and compelling details” about Tehran’s efforts to develop “missile-deliverable nuclear weapons”.
The White House stated on April 30:
“The United States has long known Iran had a robust, clandestine nuclear-weapons program that it has tried and failed to hide from the world and from its own people.”
It should be noted that US President Donald Trump is a strong critic of the Iran nuclear deal and has repeatedly promised to abort and review it.
Iran rejected Israeli’s accusations and said that it will not re-negotiate the deal.
“Iran stands firm in the face of futile attempts at bullying,” the country’s minister of foreign affairs Javad Zarif said in a recorded message on May 3. “If the US continues to violate the agreement, or if it withdraws altogether, we will exercise our right to respond in a manner of our choosing.”
BREAKING: The boy who can't stop crying wolf is at it again. Undeterred by cartoon fiasco at UNGA. You can only fool some of the people so many times. pic.twitter.com/W7saODfZDK
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 30, 2018
Earlier, Iranian spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bahram Ghasemi described Netanyahu as an “infamous liar who has had nothing to offer except lies and deceits”.
European leaders urged Trump to stick with the nuclear accord saying that it presents the only viable option available to the international community. The leaders of the UK, France and Germany have agreed to defend the Iran nuclear deal while they work out a way to taking more concessions out of Tehran.
Israeli PM’s speech on Iran’s past nuclear weapons research shows why we need Iran Nuclear deal. Iran deal based not on trust but verification, allowing @iaeaorg unprecedented access. Need to keep deal & build on it to take account of US & allies’ concerns https://t.co/To50dEs3zM
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 1, 2018
On May 2, speaking to reporters in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Iran’s missile program and its political influence in Syria needed to be discussed, adding that this was a widespread position in the European Union.
“We will continue with our argumentation, namely keeping the JCPOA (nuclear deal) plus expansion of the negotiating framework,” Merkel said.
On April 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a telephone conversation focused on the Iranian nuclaer deal, the Kremlin press service reported.
“Vladimir Putin reiterated Russia’s position that the JCPOA, which has a paramount importance in terms of international stability and security, must be strictly observed by all its signatories,” the Kremlin said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that all sides should continue to uphold the Iran nuclear agreement and recalled that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said many times Iran is in compliance with the deal:
“The JCPOA put in place the strictest monitoring and verification measures on the Iranian nuclear programme. What is imperative is for all relevant parties to bear in mind the general and long-term picture and continue to earnestly implement and safeguard the JCPOA.”
By May 12, US President Trump has promised to decide whether the US will withdraw from the Iran deal or not. If yes, this measure will lead to re-imposing of a full package of the US economic sanctions against Iran. Thus, it will be senseless for Iran to adhere the restrictions imposed by the deal.
The Trump administration can also make an attempt to re-negotiate the deal to impose new terms and conditions that Teheran has to fulfil. Any of these scenarios will lead to a new round of the escalation in the region.
