Netanyahu has ‘about 5’ ideas for Trump to undo Iran nuclear deal
The Israeli PM says that he has at least five ideas in mind for Donald Trump, whose “support for Israel is clear,” to help the US president-elect undermine the nuclear deal with Iran, which, according to Netanyahu, removed the last obstacles in front of Tehran in its “rush for the bomb.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the US President-elect would be a good friend to Israel, despite all the accusations of bigotry and anti-Semitism surrounding Donald Trump and his team.
“I know Donald Trump,” Netanyahu told CBS' 60 Minutes. “And I think his attitude, his support for Israel is clear. He feels very warmly about the Jewish state, about the Jewish people. There’s no question about that.”
Netanyahu’s main difference of opinion with President Obama was on the matter of Iran and its nuclear program. It wasn’t personal though, since they had “had the greatest of personal chemistry,” Netanyahu told CBS.
The outgoing US president praised the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran as a means by which to halt Iran’s alleged drive to develop nuclear weapons. President-elect Trump called the agreement a “disaster” and “the worst deal ever negotiated” while campaigning for the White House. He even stated that dismantling the deal would be his “number one priority” as he entered office.
Trump’s approach to the Iran nuclear program will strengthen US-Israel relations and make them really amicable, Netanyahu said.
The deal has to be undone since, according to the Israeli PM, it has opened opportunities for Iran to develop nuclear weaponry. “I think Iran didn’t rush to the bomb before there was a deal, because they were afraid of retribution,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu has “about five things in his mind” that could undo the deal. He refused to tell CBS even one of them, stating that he would “like to talk to the president before I talk to 60 Minutes.”
If the deal is reversed, there still would be “many more” options to prevent Iran from allegedly manufacturing nuclear weapons, according to Netanyahu.
READ MORE: Iran won’t let US rip up nuke deal – Rouhani
In December, the US Senate voted unanimously to renew the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for another decade. It was described as a symbolic move, but it allows the president to impose new restrictions on Tehran if it violates the 2015 nuclear accord.
The agreement between Tehran and six major world powers strictly limited the capabilities of the country’s nuclear problem in exchange for lifting international sanctions.
Iran agreed to reduce the number of its centrifuges by two-thirds, cap its uranium enrichment below the level needed for weapons-grade material, reduce its enriched uranium stockpile from around 10,000kg to 300kg for 15 years, and allow international inspections.
