Netanyahu's Reaction to Khamenei's Call for 'Continued Struggle' After Negotiations

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, referring to the recent speech by the leader of the Islamic Republic, who called for the readiness of his supporters to fight against the United States after nuclear negotiations, stated that Israel would not accept such a thing. According to Israel Radio, Netanyahu said during his government meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, July 21, 'While the leader of Iran speaks of the necessity of continuing the struggle against America, even after reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran, the negotiators in Vienna continue to retreat in favor of Iran.' The Israeli Prime Minister reiterated and added, 'A bad agreement is being formulated in Vienna that paves the way for Iran to acquire many atomic bombs and threatens global peace.' Netanyahu also referred to the 'Quds Day' rally in Iran, which took place on Friday, July 19, the last Friday of Ramadan, and said, 'In the hate parades in Iran, they burn flags of Israel and America, but the negotiators in Vienna are pursuing concessions to Iran.' According to Haaretz, the Israeli Prime Minister said, 'Iran does not hide its intentions for criminal assaults against those with whom it is negotiating, and the powers are yielding to Iranian dictation, but we (Israel) will not comply.' Netanyahu claimed that an agreement that may soon be announced is similar to the 1994 agreement with North Korea. North Korea secretly tested its nuclear bomb shortly after that agreement. During the Sunday government meeting, Netanyahu also showed a news clip of former U.S. President Bill Clinton praising the two-decade-old agreement with North Korea to his ministers. Netanyahu aimed to compare the current Democratic President Barack Obama with the then-Democratic President Bill Clinton using this old news video. Israeli officials always insist that Democratic administrations in the U.S. do not have a 'correct understanding' of the realities of the region and the world. Yuval Steinitz, Israel's Energy Minister, who is also responsible for the 'Iran file,' claimed on Sunday, July 21, that 'Iran has managed to deceive all parties in the Vienna negotiations.' Steinitz said it is a great deception by Iran that while it continues to support terrorism, it also participates in nuclear negotiations. This Israeli minister also stated that Israeli pressures have led to changes in some clauses of the agreement being formulated with Iran, even though Israel itself is not present in the negotiations. Tzachi Hanegbi, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Israeli Knesset, said on Thursday that Barack Obama is very eager to reach an agreement with Iran and that the U.S. is even trampling on Security Council resolutions in favor of Iran. Wendy Sherman, the senior American negotiator, had informed Israel's National Security Advisor, Yossi Cohen, about the negotiations in Vienna during a phone call last Thursday. It had previously been reported that Israel had been sidelined for several days from being 'updated' on the details of the nuclear talks. Israel, deeply dissatisfied with the temporary Geneva agreement and the Lausanne understanding, calling them a 'historical mistake,' demanded the 'dismantling of the nuts and bolts of Iran's nuclear program,' but according to many observers, these demands have severely strained Israel's relations with the U.S. Barack Obama has been avoiding meeting or even talking on the phone with Benjamin Netanyahu for months. Recently, Israeli officials have explicitly accused the U.S. of weakness towards Iran and have pinned their 'hope' on decisive action from the Republican-controlled Congress regarding any agreement with Iran. This round of nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany at the foreign ministers' level has entered its third week, and several deadlines set for its conclusion have been passed, yet there is still no prospect for reaching a nuclear agreement in sight. Sunday, July 21, is referred to as another critical day in the long 12-year history of negotiations between Iran and global powers.