Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called on the U.S. and other world powers to “wake up” to the possible consequences of returning to a nuclear deal with Iran.
The story: Bennett spoke at his first Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday when he slammed Iranian chief justice Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s president-elect, who won the election over the weekend with 62% of the vote.
Raisi was appointed to the position by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2019. Several months later, the U.S. placed him under sanctions for human rights violations.
What he said: Bennett said the recent election in Iran is yet another reminder of why trying to get Iran to join the nuclear agreement is not a good idea.
He said Khamenei had chosen the “hangman of Tehran” to serve as the country’s next president and that he is“infamous among Iranians and across the world for leading the death committees that executed thousands of innocent Iranian citizens throughout the years.”
“Raisi’s election is, I would say, the last chance for world powers to wake up before returning to the nuclear agreement, and understand who they are doing business with,” said Bennett, Reuters reported.
“A regime of brutal hangmen must never be allowed to have weapons of mass-destruction. Israel’s position will not change on this,” he added.
How we got here: Bennett’s comments come amid an effort from Iran and other world powers to restart negotiations about the 2015 nuclear deal. The deal allowed Iran to evade sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
The Biden administration has expressed support for negotiations with Iran regarding the 2015 deal and has spoken with some countries who are still part of the accord.
Israel has vehemently opposed the deal and praised former President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from it. This allowed the U.S. to restore sanctions on Iran, prompting the country to abandon its limitation on enrichment.
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