Israel to Continue Convincing Washington Deal on Iran Non-Binding

MOSCOW (Sputnik) Svetlana Alexandrova – The next US administration may consider the agreement between Tehran and the world powers on Iran's nuclear program non-binding as Israel will continue to call on the international community to scrap the deal, an Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption official told Sputnik on Monday.

"Israel will continue on a track of sending a clear message to both Americans and Iranians that a new US administration may perceive the agreement reached in Switzerland as non-binding," Zeev Hanin, an official from the Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, said.

The framework deal was reached after a series of talks between Iran and a group of six world powers, comprising Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France and Germany. A final comprehensive agreement is due by June 30.

According to Hanin, there is an understanding forming among US political elites, including Democrats, that "the position of the White House and the State Department on Iran's nuclear problem is not in full compliance with American interests."

He noted that the draft agreement on the Iranian nuclear program could not be solely approved on a personal level [between Obama's administration and the Iranian leadership] but needed to be approved by the US public and passed by Congress.

The official said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not believe that there was potential for a good deal. "This deal between the US and Iran didn't come as a surprise," he stated.

The Israeli leadership will continue to call for the international community not only to make any Iran deal conditional to Tehran recognizing Israel's right to exist but also "to show the West and Iran that they should not be deluded about the future of the agreement," Hanin said.

On Sunday, Netanyahu gave interviews to three US networks: CNN, NBC and ABC. He warned that the deal on Iran's nuclear program was dangerous and advocated for increased sanctions against the Islamic republic instead.

In his turn, US President Barack Obama continues to advocate for the framework deal. In an interview with The New York Times, published on Sunday, he vowed that the United States would stand by Israel if it were attacked by any state, including Iran.

Another aspect of Israel's policy includes its interaction with Arab states on the Iranian issue, the Israeli official stated.

"We are witnessing an interesting situation when while Jerusalem, Washington and Brussels have common misunderstanding on this matter, Israel and Arab countries fully agreed that this draft agreement may bear a risk for the region," he said stressing that such solidarity opened up the opportunity for putting pressure on Tehran.

On April 2, Iran and the P5+1 group in Switzerland reached an agreement on a number of key issues that include uranium enrichment, the number of centrifuges and sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic.