‘West can’t stop Iran from getting nuclear weapon,’ ayatollah says

The West cannot stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday.

“On the basis of our Islamic ideals, we do not want nuclear weapons,” Khamenei said, visiting an exhibition on Iran’s nuclear project. “But if this wasn’t the case, they would not be able to prevent us from doing so, just like they could not prevent our nuclear advancements so far.

“There is no problem with a nuclear agreement, but the nuclear industry’s industry must not be touched,” he added.

Khamenei said that Iran will continue to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, less than a week after IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said that the Islamic Republic cooperates with only a “fraction” of nuclear inspection requirements in a deal made between the agency and Tehran earlier this year.

The head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammed Eslami, said that Iran’s decision to enrich uranium to over 60% purity was “a strategic measure to lift” US sanctions, according to Beirut-based outlet Al Mayadeen.

“They insinuate that Iran is pursuing military goals, but our main goal… is to persuade or force the counter parties to ease the unjust economic embargo on Iran,” Eslami said.

Netanyahu warns: Israel won't be held back by a US-Iran deal

Iran would need to enrich uranium to 90% purity to reach nuclear breakout, though large quantities of less-enriched uranium could suffice for a bomb.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel will not be held back by a US-Iran deal, as Jerusalem continued to be concerned about the possibility of an interim nuclear agreement between Washington and Tehran.

Netanyahu said that, in his phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday night, “I emphasized again that no arrangement with Iran will oblige Israel. With or without an agreement, we will continue to do all that is necessary to defend the State of Israel.

“A return to the nuclear agreement with Iran will not stop the Iranian nuclear program and will only allow Iran to funnel money to terrorist organizations under its sponsorship in the Middle East and around Israel’s borders,” Netanyahu added, speaking at Sunday’s cabinet meeting.

The remarks came amid worries in Israel that Iran and the US are nearing a “less for less” deal, by which Iran would stop advancing its nuclear program, but not reverse it, in exchange for access to some of its frozen assets or other economic benefits.

The Blinken and Netanyahu call took place as the former was on the way back to Washington from Riyadh, where he discussed the possibility of Saudi-Israel normalization.

Netanyahu said that he and Blinken “spoke extensively about a series of topics, foremost of which was Iran. I expressed my appreciation to the secretary of state for the intelligence and military cooperation between the US and Israel.

“I want you to know – I’m not just saying it – the cooperation is at an all-time record high,” Netanyahu added.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that “there is no coalition or opposition in Israel – everyone is the same, telling the administration not to sign a bad deal. We saw what happened last time they did it.”

“Iran enriched uranium to 84%, and when they were asked about it, they said it was a mistake. There’s no way of enriching to 84% by mistake,” he told the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum in Tel Aviv.

By enriching so close to the level of breakout, Lapid said, Iran is “poking the world on the chest and saying ‘we’re going to try some stuff and see if you care,’ and the world has to say ‘we do care.’… This needs to be part of a global mission and the Americans need to orchestrate it.

“Just signing ‘less for less’ or a new version of the JCPOA [2015 deal] is not enough to stop Iran from going nuclear,” he stated.

US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides emphasized in his remarks to the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum that the US is committed to ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday, and “expressed his concern about the current trajectory of the Iranian nuclear program,” according to the French Embassy in Israel.

France and Europe seek a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, and Macron emphasized the importance of Tehran taking “concrete and verifiable de-escalation measures and implementing... its international obligations as well as the commitments made to the IAEA,” the embassy stated.

Macron also called on Tehran to stop delivering drones to Russia to use against Ukraine.

According to Iranian pro-regime media, the call lasted 90 minutes and the presidents “discussed how to promote relations, especially regarding ongoing negotiations and regional developments.”