Israel eyes renewed Iranian nuke talks warily

JERUSALEM, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The resumption of the talks aimed at salvaging the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal has made Israel apprehensive, as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has urged Israel's allies not to "give in to Iran's nuclear blackmail."

"Iran deserves no rewards, no bargain deals and no sanctions relief in return for their brutality," said Bennett ahead of the talks which resumed on Monday in Austria's capital of Vienna after a five-month pause.

Aiming to prevent the restoration of the 2015 nuke deal, which former U.S. President Donald Trump quitted in 2018, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is visiting France and the United Kingdom this week to discuss the resumption of the Iranian nuclear talks.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz will also visit the United States in the coming days for the same issue.

While the Israeli actions have probably delayed Iran's progress in becoming a nuclear power, Tehran has still made headway and is believed to be only a short step away from enriching enough uranium for making a nuclear weapon, Israeli security experts said.

"There is nothing that can effectively stop the Iranian nuclear plan," said Eyal Pinko, president of the International Institute for Migration and Security Research.

He added that, in order to stall the plan, efforts need to be made to create diplomatic pressure and impose more economic sanctions on Iran.

"We do not oppose negotiations but we must not cooperate with their stalling. We recognize the international community's work to reach a diplomatic solution with the Iranians, yet we must continue as a strong and independent country to maintain the capability to defend ourselves," Gantz said in a statement on the resumption of the Vienna talks.

However, Elisheva Machlis, a senior lecturer from the Bar Ilan University in Israel, said that "the negotiations are the best option," adding the American withdrawal from the deal in 2018 was detrimental.

"Imposing more sanctions on Iran resulted in the opposite reaction, and Iran's nuclear development (still) progressed," Machlis said.

Bennett emphasized that Israel is not a party to the agreement and therefore not bound to it. Israel has always insisted that it keeps all options open, including the military option, in order to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

"Israel should support negotiations but this does not mean that at the same time, that Israel and other powers cannot choose other options that may defer or harm Iranian nuclear armament," Machlis said.

Israel does have the option of, acting through intelligence, of weakening or harming certain aspects of the program, added Machlis.