Steinitz: Agreement with Iran Without Permission to Inspect Military Sites is a Deception

According to Israel Radio, Yuval Steinitz, one of the ministers in Netanyahu's government responsible for following the 'Iranian nuclear file', stated on Saturday, June 9, that Iran's refusal to allow inspections of its 'suspected military sites' renders the monitoring clause in the Additional Protocol 'worthless'. According to Steinitz, Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs, if International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors are not allowed to inspect 'suspected sites' in Iran, then what is reached with Iran is not an agreement but rather a 'deception and trickery'. Two weeks ago, Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, stated that he opposes inspections of other sites in Iran and interviews with the country's nuclear experts, asserting that 'such permission will not be granted'. As the nuclear negotiations between Iran and global powers enter their final month, Israel, which has long felt a 'vital threat' from Iran's potential acquisition of a nuclear bomb, has stated that it is closely and sensitively monitoring these crucial final weeks of nuclear talks. With the countdown beginning in the negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group in the last month before the deadline for these talks, Israel has called for the global powers to show the utmost rigor in the final agreement with Iran. In this context, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, on Sunday, June 10, at the beginning of his weekly government meeting in Jerusalem, referred to the meeting on Saturday between the foreign ministers of Iran and the United States in Geneva, stating that Israel continues to feel 'deep concern' about Iran's nuclear program. The approximately six-hour talks between John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif in Switzerland ended on Saturday, with the announcement that on Thursday, June 14, a new round of nuclear talks between Iran and global powers will resume at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Vienna, Austria. According to a report from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu also discussed the fate of the nuclear negotiations with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German Foreign Minister who visited Israel, reiterating Israel's positions. Mr. Steinmeier, whose country, along with the five permanent members of the Security Council, played a role in reaching a temporary agreement and understanding in Switzerland, heard from other Israeli officials, including Reuven Rivlin, the President, and Isaac Herzog, the opposition leader, about the reasons for Israel's 'concern' regarding the consequences of a 'bad nuclear deal' with Iran. Simultaneously, in Israel, a maneuver aimed at 'rear readiness' for future wars has begun on Sunday, June 10. This maneuver, conducted under the name 'Turning Point', will continue until Thursday, June 14, involving military, civilian, municipal organizations, and various ministries. Rescue and emergency units, alongside ground, air, and naval forces, are participating in this exercise. Israel Radio reported that troop movements during the days of the maneuver will be extensive, and road traffic will become heavy. According to this report, extensive evacuation of certain residential areas is being practiced in preparation for rocket attacks from Lebanon and Gaza. Israeli military commanders have assessed that Hezbollah, with its strengthened forces and missile stockpiles, can target all areas of Israel; this assessment by Israelis has been confirmed by Hezbollah leaders. The series of 'Turning Point' exercises were not conducted last year due to the 51-day war in Gaza, as the rear of the country was effectively under threat from thousands of rockets fired by Hamas and other armed groups towards Israel. Israeli military commanders have assessed that in a future war, simultaneous rocket attacks from Lebanon towards all points in Israel will be repeated by Palestinian organizations allied with Iran in Gaza. Despite this, observers say that the Israeli Prime Minister has noticeably refrained from using the term 'military option' against Iran's nuclear program in recent weeks and has focused his efforts on achieving a stringent nuclear agreement between nuclear powers and Iran to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu has recently discussed this with several American senators who have traveled to Israel. Iran insists that it has never sought to possess a nuclear bomb and wants to eliminate 'oppressive sanctions' against it as soon as possible through a final nuclear agreement, but Israel is strongly dissatisfied with the lifting of Iran's sanctions.