Netanyahu to US Congressional Leaders: If the JCPOA is not amended, it should be canceled

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a meeting with US congressional leaders, stated that if the nuclear agreement with Iran is not amended, it should be fundamentally canceled. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu, who is currently in the US, met with prominent members of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday, March 6, asserting that he was justified in his strong opposition to the Iran nuclear deal in previous years, as it has been proven that Iran has not changed its policies but is instead seeking to expand its dominance in the region. He held separate meetings with House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and later met with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a joint delegation of prominent figures from both parties. Netanyahu told congressional leaders that the JCPOA must be completely changed or otherwise canceled, as his predictions about Iran becoming more aggressive after the deal have proven correct. He has been opposed to the negotiations between world powers and Iran since the presidency of Barack Obama, but after the JCPOA, he distanced himself from openly opposing the agreement and seemingly emphasized the need for 'close monitoring' of Iran's compliance with the deal. However, since the beginning of Donald Trump's administration, Netanyahu has intensified his opposition to the JCPOA, calling for a complete change or cancellation of its provisions in his international meetings and speeches. The four-month deadline set by Trump to address the 'flaws' in the JCPOA will end on May 11. US Vice President Mike Pence has emphasized that Washington will no longer endorse the nuclear agreement with Iran in its current form, stating that 'the last chance given to Iran will not be repeated.' Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated this week that Iran has adhered to its commitments under the JCPOA and that canceling the agreement would be a 'great loss.' European allies of the US, who support the JCPOA, have recently been trying to address Washington's requests and bring Iran back to the negotiating table. However, Israel has recently insisted that Iran's missile range should also be limited to 300 kilometers; Israeli officials have stated that they oppose the US position that Iran can have missiles with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. While Iran has rejected renegotiating the JCPOA, during the visit of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Tehran on Monday, it emphasized that it would not negotiate to limit its missile range. Netanyahu also described Iran's regional policies as dangerous for Israel, stating that 'Iran is trying to establish a military presence and create permanent bases in Syria, but Israel is preventing Iran from achieving this goal.' On Tuesday morning, Netanyahu stated at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) that Iran is attempting to attack Israel from closer proximity by bringing military forces and Shiite militants to establish permanent bases in Syria and creating a corridor from Tehran to Tartus (on the Mediterranean coast) in Syria. Netanyahu declared at the AIPAC conference that 'we will defeat Iran's aggressive empire.' After his meeting with Trump on Monday, Netanyahu told Israeli media that more than half of his private discussion time with Trump was dedicated to Iran, with only a quarter of an hour spent discussing Palestinians, as 'Iran is the root of the current problems in the Middle East.' In response to Netanyahu's speech at AIPAC, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Tuesday evening: 'Contrary to Netanyahu's claims, the reality is that illegal occupation is the source of most of our region's problems... This occupation and the apartheid system that sustains it will not last long.' Iran and Israel have maintained a hostile stance towards each other since the 1979 revolution, and in recent years, tensions have escalated due to discussions surrounding Tehran's nuclear program and the Syrian war.