Public Debate Between Hammond and Netanyahu on Iran Nuclear Agreement

The British Foreign Secretary, who traveled to Israel seeking a comprehensive nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, engaged in a public debate with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, July 25. Philip Hammond assured in a joint press conference with Netanyahu that there are strong guarantees regarding the implementation of this agreement, but the Israeli Prime Minister reiterated his opposition to it. According to AFP, Hammond responded by stating, 'We would not have agreed to this deal unless we were sure that strong guarantees for effective oversight of Iran's nuclear program were in place.' Mr. Hammond is the first senior official from the P5+1 countries to visit Israel after the announcement of the comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran. Although this agreement limits Iran's nuclear program, the Israeli government has rejected it. The office of the Prime Minister of Israel stated that 'Israel does not consider itself committed to accepting this agreement,' and Benjamin Netanyahu even called it a 'historic mistake.' Nevertheless, the British Foreign Secretary emphasized that the P5+1 is committed to fully implementing the nuclear agreement to ensure that Iran will not have the capability to acquire nuclear weapons. In the joint press conference, Netanyahu reacted again to Hammond's statements, emphasizing that this agreement has not changed Iran's policies. Netanyahu stated, 'We wanted an agreement that tells Iran that if it changes its behavior, then the restrictions on its nuclear program would be lessened and sanctions would be lifted.' He then expressed that Israel is 'astonished' that the nuclear agreement has not prevented Iran's desire to destroy Israel. The report states that Philip Hammond also emphasized that the UK understands Netanyahu's concerns but added, 'We have always made it clear that the agreement is solely about the nuclear issue.' Mr. Hammond had previously stated on Wednesday, before his trip to Israel, in response to comments from a British parliament member regarding Israel's dissatisfaction with the agreement with Iran that no agreement with Iran could satisfy Israel.