WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Implementing the framework agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries will do more to freeze Tehran’s nuclear development activities than a military campaign ever would, former Israeli Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States Dan Arbell told Sputnik on Friday.
“It [military option] won’t set the program back for a longer period than it is already being set back, now, by this deal,” Arbell said.
A military campaign involving the United States, Israel or the Gulf states, according to Arbell, would be counterproductive because it would draw the ire of the international community and bestow Iran with legitimacy to pursue a nuclear weapon.
The P5+1 group of countries have a very good chance of finalizing this agreement by June 30 if they can avoid being undermined by detractors within the US Congress and Israeli government, Arbell warned.
“I imagine at the end of the day the President [Obama] will succeed and the P5+1 will be able to sign a deal with Iran,” Arbell said. “It’s better than any other option right now. So I don’t think it’s a bad deal.”
“At the end of the day, verification is the most important thing. Critics say that the United States and the international community had reached frameworks with North Korea and Pakistan. And look where North Korea and Pakistan are today. You have to make a serious attempt to prevent that,” Arbell stressed.
Iran and the P5+1 group of countries agreed to the framework of a nuclear agreement in Switzerland on Thursday that aims to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon for at least ten years, according to the US State Department.
