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Israeli minister slams Lausanne framework agreement on Iran nuke plan

Xinhua, April 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Israel's Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Thursday that the framework agreement announced earlier in the evening in Lausanne over Iran's nuclear program is "far" from being real.

Steinitz made the remark on his Facebook page, shortly after the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif presented the outline of the agreement in a press conference in the Swiss town.

The minister said that the smiles seen on the faces of delegates from the P5+1 countries (China, the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia and Germany) and Iran during the press conference are "disconnected from the sad reality," adding that Israel will "continue its efforts and hope to prevent a bad agreement."

Earlier on Thursday, Steinitz said that "all options were on the table" in preventing Iran from reaching nuclear weapons, including a military option.

Israeli officials decry the possibility of a nuclear Iran as an existential threat to Israel and the region, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying this week that the upcoming agreement would enable Iran to "break out" and manufacture nuclear weapons in less than a year.

Netanyahu has not release a statement following the press conference, but did reiterate his stance on twitter just prior to the official statement, saying "any deal must significantly roll back Iran's nuclear capabilities and stop its terrorism and aggression."

Netanyahu had led a vocal opposition to the agreement being formulated, especially in the recent week of intense negotiations.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu told the Israeli Knesset (parliament) that agreement in Lausanne "paves the way to Iran's effort to arm itself with nuclear weapons," specifying it would "leave in Iran's possession underground installations, the Arak nuclear reactor and advanced centrifuges."

The framework agreement announced on Thursday night followed a week of intense negotiations between the parties, aimed at reaching a framework agreement on key issues. The deadline for a final deal following the framework agreement is set for June 30.

The framework agreement stated the final agreement would be in effect for 10 to 15 years in which there will be strict oversight by the international community over the Iranian nuclear facilities. Endit