Netanyahu: Agreement With Iran Can Be Reached if Tehran Destroys Nuke Program

Israeli leader likened the possible deal to a 'Libya-style agreement'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video on Tuesday that the U.S. and Israel both agree that Iran cannot be allowed to possess nuclear weapons — which he said can be achieved through an agreement — but only one where Tehran willingly destroys its nuclear facilities “under American supervision.”

NEW ISSUE OUT TODAY

Netanyahu likened the possible deal to a “Libya-style agreement,” which occurred in 2003.

Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, posted: “Netanyahu is in Washington urging Trump to apply the so-called ‘Libya model’ to Iran. This is a thinly veiled call to kill off diplomacy & set the stage for dangerous escalation. Notably, Trump famously slammed Bolton for using that exact phrase on North Korea.”

Trump met with Netanyahu yesterday in Washington and told reporters in the Oval Office that he thinks “everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious.”

“And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or, frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it. So, we’re going to see if we can avoid it. But it’s getting to be very dangerous territory. And, hopefully, those talks will be successful. And I think it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful,” he said. “If the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran is going to be in great danger. And I hate to say it, great danger, because they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

Mondoweiss reported the neo-con Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who mocks Arabs killed in U.S. strikes as “goat-herders,” said Trump “prefers a deal like Libya cut with the United States in 2003.”

The report noted that Trita Parsi, the executive vice president from the Quincy Institute, said Trump’s recent comments on Iran could either mean “diplomacy will most likely be dead on arrival,” or he could be trying to lay the groundwork for a “verification-based deal.”

Abbas Araqchi, the top Iranian diplomat, spoke to reporters about the upcoming indirect talks with the U.S. over its nuclear facilities.

“Direct negotiations under U.S. pressure amount to dictation, which we reject. Indirect dialogue ensures a genuine and productive exchange,” he said.