The nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is unlikely to be renewed soon, if at all, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Thursday after European leaders voiced doubt about Tehran's willingness to restore the 2015 agreement.
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Speaking at a counter-terrorism conference at Reichman University, Gantz said the deal was "in the emergency room."
"There's a period maybe after the elections, we'll see how it goes," he said in an apparent reference to the US mid-term November elections.
Israel views Iran's nuclear ambitions as an existential threat, and as Jerusalem is not part of the agreement, officials have stressed time and again that the country reserves freedom of action to protect itself.
On Saturday, France, Britain and Germany questioned Iran's commitment to reviving the deal in return for a lifting of sanctions, comments that were rejected by Tehran and called "very untimely" by Moscow.
In August, after 16 months of tortuous negotiations, the European Union laid down a final offer to overcome an impasse over terms for restoring the accord.
Earlier this month, Iran sent its latest response to the EU's proposed text. Western diplomats said this was a step backward, with Iran seeking to link a revival of the deal with the closure of UN nuclear watchdog investigations into unexplained nuclear activity by Tehran.
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