Israel to oppose Biden's policy on Iran

JERUSALEM

Israel wants to pursue a hardline stance against US President Joe Biden’s plan to resume the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) reported on Tuesday.

According to the broadcaster, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a consultative session on Monday on whether Israel should endorse or reject the US plan to renew its nuclear agreement with Iran and to guarantee to include Iran's ballistic missile project.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, and Army Chief Aviv Kochavi reportedly supported taking a moderate stance on the issue and initiating a dialogue with the White House about it.

IPBC also highlighted Israeli pressure on the European signatories of the nuclear deal in an attempt to prevent them from returning to the 2015 agreement.

“Israel tried to persuade France, Britain, and Germany to add clauses to any agreement that might be signed with Tehran in case negotiations are resumed on this [nuclear deal] file," it said.

EU signaled on Monday that Iran could comply with its nuclear obligations if the US rejoins the 2015 nuclear deal.

Israel vehemently opposed the agreement that the administration of former US President Barack Obama and the major powers reached with Tehran over its nuclear program in 2015.

In November, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani joined other senior Iranian officials in accusing Israel of killing top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Last week, Israel objected to Washington's intention to return to the 2015 nuclear deal. Netanyahu’s office reiterated in a statement "its commitment to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons."

The statement was in response to Washington’s message to the UN Security Council last week on canceling the sanctions imposed by Trump on Iran, known as “snapback".

*Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara contributed to this report.