IRAN EXPANDS NUCLEAR PLANS AS MACRON HOSTS NETANYAHU
▶ Israel says it will not let Iran develop bomb after Tehran says to resume enrichment expansion
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, sought to convince French President Emmanuel Macron that the 2015 Iran deal was fatally flawed at a meeting at the Elysee Palace last night.
On the second stop of a three-country European tour, Mr Netanyahu seized on comments by Iran announcing it would soon open a site for producing new centrifuges to increase its uranium enrichment capabilities.
Mr Macron said the pair had a long discussion on preserving the stability of the Middle East, including the “military presence of Iran” in the region. He said that France remained committed to the Iran deal but also wanted to address the period after 2025 and Iran’s ballistic missile build-up.
“We have had a discussion that has allowed us to make progress on working together,” he said. “The 2015 agreement is a stepping stone that needs to be preserved and built on.”
The Israeli leader has been buoyed in his campaign against the deal by President Donald Trump’s withdrawal but faces a struggle to persuade Europeans to abandon their efforts to salvage the deal.
Iran’s nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the expansion was allowed under the accord and did “not mean the negotiations [with Europe] had failed”, but experts fear the country is preparing the way for the deal to collapse. “If conditions allow, maybe tomorrow night at Natanz, we can announce the opening of the centre for production of new centrifuges,” he said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed it had received a letter from Iran, which Mr Salehi said was submitted on Monday and outlined Tehran’s plans.
Under the 2015 nuclear agreement that Iran signed with world powers, it has the right to build and test certain centrifuges, although detailed restrictions exist for the first 10 years on the types and quantities of the machines allowed.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also appeared to reiterate Tehran’s pledge to wipe out Israel. Mr Netanyahu said Iran is duping the West, exploiting the break from sanctions to build up its financial reserves before returning to its nuclear plans.
“The day before yesterday Ayatollah Khamenei, the ruler of Iran, declared his intention to destroy the state of Israel. Yesterday he explained how he would do this – with the unrestricted enrichment of uranium in order to produce an arsenal of nuclear bombs,” Mr Netanyahu said. “We are not surprised. We will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.”
Mr Netanyahu met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday and is due to travel to London for a meeting with Theresa May today.
Germany also favours a continuation of the Iran nuclear deal despite the departure of the United States from the agreement.
“There’s not agreement on every issue but we’re friends and there’s a will to understand the other’s position,” Mrs Merkel said.
The Israeli leader also addressed Tehran’s role in the Syrian conflict, playing to German sensitivities over the wave of migration from the Middle East in recent years.
Iran is intent on fuelling “a religious war in Syria and the consequences will be many, many more refugees and you know where exactly they will come”, he told Mrs Merkel.
A briefing prepared by The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre said the Israeli leader would not reverse Europe’s position on the trip.
“While EU leaders have acknowledged that the [agreement] is ‘not perfect’ and stated their willingness to negotiate a supplementary deal with Tehran covering its ballistic missile programme, interventions in the region and sunset clauses, they have been at pains to emphasise that they see the agreement as the best guarantee against an Iran with nuclear weapons,” it said.
“In this context, there is little Netanyahu can say or do that will sway May in her position.”
French officials said that Mr Macron also raised the issue of the Palestinian territories. European countries have voiced concerns over Israel’s use of live fire during recent Palestinian protests along the Gaza border with Israel, including Mr Macron, who condemned Israel’s “heinous acts”.
Relations between Israel and the European Union were already under strain caused by the killing since March of 123 Palestinian protesters in Gaza by Israeli forces.
The 2015 agreement is a stepping stone that needs to be preserved and built on
EMMANUEL MACRON
French President