As Western officials involved in the Iran nuclear negotiations said recently that a deal was within reach, perhaps in the coming days – Tehran is applying last-minute pressure in an effort to receive additional American concessions.
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in the Qatari capital, Doha, that efforts to revive the nuclear deal could not succeed if Washington doesn't remove the main economic sanctions imposed on Iran.
According to a draft of the agreement that was leaked to Reuters last weekend, the American sanctions will only be lifted at a later stage of the deal's implementation, and only after Iran meets all of its commitments.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that significant progress had been made in the nuclear talks. With that, he noted: "The issues that remain are the most difficult." Contrary to this Iranian claim, American media outlets quoted Western diplomats as saying that a deal was expected to be finalized within the coming days.
In the meantime, Israeli officials expressed considerable concern over the return of Washington and other global powers to the nuclear deal. One government officials said the first phase of the deal's implementation would already include the removal of sanctions and a windfall of billions of dollars into Iran's coffers, which will allow the Islamic republic to intensify its terrorist activities in the region.
Also on Monday, Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu said that "the right policy from Israel's point of view should be to speak out against it," adding that the current government could follow the path he took in railing against the 2015 deal.
"What is needed is a consistent, aggressive action against the most aggressive, poisonous regime on the planet," he told i24NEWS.
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