Israeli intelligence is seeking proof of Iran violating the
interim nuclear deal that was struck last week in Geneva with the world powers,
the British Sunday Times reported on Sunday.
According to the report, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israeli intelligence and Mossad chiefs
to seek evidence of Iranian sabotage aimed at bypassing international sanctions
and bans, prior to the signing of the accord.
An Israeli intelligence source told the British paper that
"Everyone has his own view regarding the Geneva agreement, but it is clear
that if a smoking gun is produced, it will tumble like a house of cards."
The paper noted that the emergence of any such evidence will
complicate the political challenge faced by US President Barack Obama, in his
attempt to persuade the House of Representatives not to increase sanctions on
Iran, when politics resume in Washington after the Thanksgiving weekend.
Israeli security sources told the British paper that Israeli
intelligence efforts focus on three fields of the Iranian nuclear program:
Ballistic missiles, planning of bombs and search after secret nuclear
enrichment sites. “Iran would not have invested such a fortune (estimated at
$200 billion) if in the end it does not produce nuclear weapons and turn Iran
into a regional superpower," the Israeli source told the Times.
The Sunday Times quoted various Israeli and American experts
as saying they are not convinced by the Iranian vows to not use the
already-enriched uranium in its possession to produce plutonium, which is used
for production of nuclear weapon.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Friday, Iranian
President Hassan Rohani clarified that his country has no intention of
disarming its nuclear facilities. “One hundred percent (no),” he said when
asked whether he would concede to the demands of Israel and US hawks. The
Iranian president stressed throughout the interview that Iran maintains the
right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
Iran's foreign minister has stressed that his country would
not enter nuclear talks if Israel took part in the talks as well. A Friday
report by the IRNA news agency quoted Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying: "We
will not attend a meeting in which the occupying regime participates."
IRNA did not note where it was claimed Israel would take part in the talks, and
according to all estimates Israel is not expected to take part in the
negotiations for a final deal, at least not publicly.
Meanwhile, Obama is taking heat from home. In an editorial
released by the Washington Post on Friday, much criticism was expressed on the
interim deal with Iran and the manner in which the White House performed.
The article noted that "the concessions made to Iran will
have to be balanced by a major rollback of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure – with
no automatic expiration date."
The paper pointed at a contradiction in US Secretary of
State John Kerry's remarks, who said that Iran’s assertion of a "right to
enrich” uranium would not be recognized in an interim deal, while the text said
the “comprehensive solution” will “involve a mutually defined enrichment
program with mutually agreed parameters.”
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