Friday's historic pledge by the leaders of the two Koreas to work to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula should give U.S. President Donald Trump a stronger hand to renegotiate the treaty curtailing Iran's nuclear program, Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said over the weekend.
Katz, who oversees both the Intelligence and Transportation ministries in Israel, made the remarks after North Korea's Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to work for a "complete denuclearization" of the peninsula at a summit meeting in Seoul on Friday.
Such a development, should it ultimately succeed, could have a larger impact by diminishing the threat of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, Katz said.
A 2015 agreement between Iran and six world powers aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear aspirations, which Israel's government vehemently opposed, is in danger of unraveling should U.S. President Donald Trump decide to reimpose the American economic sanctions on Iran that were lifted as part of the deal.
Trump has called the accord the worst deal ever negotiated and threatened to reimpose the U.S. penalties lifted under the agreement unless Britain, France and Germany can fix its "terrible flaws" by a May 12 deadline.
"He [Trump] will have more power against Iran now," Katz said. "Maybe [he will be able to] convince the European Union not to be the weak link in the coalition."
"I think it will be very good if the North Koreans will finish and go out of the nuclear business and capabilities. It will also be good for our region because there is a connection," he explained.
Katz said the connection between Iran and North Korea pertains to missile technology, noting that "Yes, I think there is a cooperation as it belongs to developing the ballistic missiles. And we have the evidence."
"We have a lot of evidence," Katz emphasized, shrugging his shoulders without elaborating.
Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France, which all struck the accord with Iran and the United States, see the 2015 deal as the best way to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.
During a state visit to Washington earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron called on the U.S. not to abandon the deal and said a new package of terms was being prepared with Britain and Germany.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a one-day working visit with Trump on Friday, where she was careful to praise Trump's progress on North Korea.
"I think that now we have to be very tough with Iran," said Katz, who has said he wants to succeed Netanyahu as the country's next prime minister.
Regional conflicts
While Iran's nuclear capabilities have in fact been curtailed for the time being, Katz reiterated that Israel would remain vigilant in seeking to curb Tehran's growing presence in Syria.
On April 9, an airstrike killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps members at a Syrian base. Tehran blamed Israel and vowed unspecified retaliation, drawing Israeli counterthreats to broaden attacks on Iranian military assets in Syria.
The Israelis have said their strikes aim to prevent Iran's garrison in Syria from entrenching itself deeper in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad and linking with Hezbollah in Lebanon to form a broad front against Israel.
"Iranians don't have to be in Syria. We are not going to attack every Iranian soldier in Syria, but bases, military bases, and munitions bases, and sophisticated missiles and other things like that? Yes," Katz said.
Russia, a key ally of Assad, has said it would provide advanced weapons to Syria. Israel is concerned that might include the S-300 surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile system, which military analysts say would improve Russia's ability to control airspace in Syria.
"They are talking about supplying advanced missiles, but they didn't say the words S-300," Katz said.
"Personally, it is hard for me to believe that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will give them the S-300," he said. "Because this is his main card that he is holding now in the discussions with Israel. … If he gives them the S-300, what can he talk about with us afterward?"
