Israeli PM says revived Iran nuclear deal would mean a 'more violent' Middle East

IsraeliPrime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday that a U.S.-Iraniandealtaking shape to reviveIran's 2015nuclearagreement with world powers is weaker than the original arrangement andwouldlead to a more violentMiddleEast.

The 2015deallimitedIran’s enrichment of uranium to make it harder for Tehran to develop material fornuclearweapons, in return for a lifting of international sanctions against Tehran.

But it has eroded since 2018 when then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States and reimposed far-reaching sanctions onIran.

"The emergingdeal, as it seems, is highly likely to create a more violent, more volatileMiddleEast," Bennett said in a speech in Jerusalem to Jewish American leaders.

The aim of thenucleartalks in Vienna is to return to the original bargain of lifting sanctions againstIranin exchange for restrictions on itsnuclearactivities that extend the time itwouldneed to produce enough enriched uranium for an atomic bomb if it chose to.

Iransaysitsnuclearambitions are peaceful.

Bennett said the biggest problem in current negotiations was the possibility of the shorter timeline - two and a half years - beforeIrancould freely operate advanced centrifuges, since the original timeline may not be extended.

"Israel will not acceptIranas anuclearthreshold state," he said, reiterating a long-standing position, at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. "Israel will always maintain its freedom of action to defend itself."

Watch |Israel PM Naftali Bennett slams emerging Nuclear Deal