Israeli Officials Meet with Steinmeier: Do Not Make a 'Bad Deal' with Iran

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German Foreign Minister's visit to Israel and his discussions with the Prime Minister and other senior officials have provided Israeli leaders an opportunity to urge the Berlin government and other members of the P5+1 group to refrain from signing a 'bad' nuclear deal with Iran. The meeting took place in Jerusalem on Sunday, November 25, just eight days before the deadline for the six powers to reach a comprehensive agreement with Iran regarding its nuclear program. The international community has long been suspicious of Iran's nuclear program; however, Israel has for years expressed 'confidence' that Iran's goal is to produce a nuclear bomb, an accusation that Iran repeatedly denies. Recently, Hassan Rouhani reiterated that 'the Leader's fatwa is the best guarantee that Iran is not seeking military exploitation of its purely peaceful nuclear program.' While Iranian officials emphasize that any final agreement must include the lifting of all sanctions or at least a significant portion of global sanctions against Iran, Israeli leaders have told the German Foreign Minister that sanctions against Iran should be maintained and even strengthened. According to Israeli media reports, Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli Minister of Intelligence, also stated that it is better to extend negotiations with Iran than to reach a 'bad deal.' Israeli officials have described a 'bad deal' as one that preserves Iran's 'military' nuclear capability, particularly its uranium enrichment capacity. Last year, Israel labeled the interim Geneva agreement as 'a historic mistake' and called for 'compensation' in the final nuclear agreement. Reports indicate that Mr. Steinmeier, who has been in the region since Saturday, November 24, has also heard the views of Reuven Rivlin, the President, and Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Foreign Minister, regarding how a final nuclear agreement with Iran should be structured. Meanwhile, the German Foreign Minister emphasized in an interview with the Die Welt publication, released on Sunday, November 25, that every effort must be made to achieve a final agreement with Iran within the short remaining timeframe. In recent days, the German Foreign Minister warned that if the nuclear negotiations fail, the sanctions regime against Iran may be strengthened. This comes as Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian officials insist that even if a comprehensive nuclear agreement is not reached by December 3, the sanctions situation 'will never return to the previous conditions.' In response to a recent letter from President Obama to the Iranian leader, Benjamin Netanyahu indirectly stated that 'Iran is not America's partner but rather its enemy.' This marks the first public yet implicit reference by the Israeli Prime Minister to Obama's latest letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, which reportedly discussed U.S.-Iran cooperation in combating the 'Islamic State' against efforts to resolve Iran's nuclear program. In the U.S., Senators Lindsey Graham, Bob Corker, and Robert Menendez, three active Senate figures regarding Iran's nuclear program, have recently emphasized alongside Israel that sanctions against Iran should be expanded now. Senator Graham also recommended last Thursday that any potential final agreement reached between the Obama administration and other powers with Iran should be submitted for congressional approval. The U.S. Congress has recently come under Republican control in the midterm elections; Republican views on Iran's nuclear program align closely with Israeli positions. However, in the final days of nuclear negotiations, a Twitter account attributed to Ali Khamenei published a '9-point plan for the destruction of Israel,' and Iranian conservative media have intensified their attacks on Israel. Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also introduced three 'Israel-striking' missiles on Saturday, November 24.