18/11/2013 10:25
Kerry, Israel PM to meet over Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Western nations should "ratchet up the sanctions" on Iran rather than go through with a proposal for a nuclear agreement that he calls an "extremely bad deal," CNN reported.
Netanyahu, in an interview with CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley that aired Sunday on "State of the Union," said easing sanctions would take off the financial pressure that could one day cause Iran to "cease and desist" from its controversial nuclear program.
"Iran is really on the ropes, their economy is ... close to paralysis, and all of a sudden, you take off the pressure, everybody will understand that you're heading south," he said.
Netanyahu said Iran only gives minor concessions in the proposed deal and will keep the capacity for making nuclear weapons. He said he is hopeful for a far better deal.
The way to get that is not to reduce sanctions, he said.
"I think they should not only keep up the pressure, I think you should increase the pressure, because it's finally working," he said. "And if you give it up now, when you have that pressure, and Iran doesn't even take apart, dismantle one centrifuge, what leverage will you have when you ease the pressure?"
The United States and other nations are "getting close" to an interim deal with Iran that would prevent its nuclear program "from advancing, and roll it back" in key areas, a senior U.S. administration official told CNN on Friday.
Netanyahu will meet this week with leaders from France, Russia and the United States to urge them to hold out for a better deal. Netanyahu said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Israel on Friday, but the State Department said the trip has yet to be confirmed.
Netanyahu met Sunday with French President Francois Hollande and is scheduled to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.
"I would like to make it clear that there can be disagreements even among the best of friends, certainly on issues related to our future and our fate," Netanyahu said Sunday at the start of Israel's weekly Cabinet meeting. "I hope that we will succeed in convincing our friends this week and in the days afterwards to achieve a much better agreement."
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, in an exclusive interview with CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, said Saturday night the United States is "listening carefully" to Israel. He reiterated that Washington is continuing its longtime strategy to ensure that Iran cannot gain the capability of building nuclear weapons.