Lapid: Israel will act as it “sees fit” to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear bomb
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – As the Vienna talks on reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Iran nuclear agreement appear to have faltered yet again, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned Tuesday that Israel will act as it sees fit to thwart Iranian efforts to obtain a nuclear bomb, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.
Faced with Iranian threats of annihilation, Israel has always opposed the JCPOA, fearing it would be ineffective in preventing Iran from producing a nuclear bomb. Most recently, Lapid has sought to dissuade the Biden administration and other world powers from seeking to revive the deal, which collapsed when former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018.
“It is still too early to know if we have indeed succeeded in stopping the nuclear agreement, but Israel is prepared for every threat and every scenario,” Lapid said in a statement to reporters Tuesday while standing in front of an F-35 military plane. “If Iran continues to test us, it will discover Israel’s long arm and capabilities. We will continue to act on all fronts against terrorism and against those who seek to harm us.”
“As [US] President [Joe] Biden and I agreed, Israel has full freedom to act as we see fit to prevent the possibility of Iran becoming a nuclear threat,” Lapid attested.
On Monday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is leading efforts to revive the JCPOA, said the talks in Vienna have now taken a turn for the worst – even after it recently appeared a new deal was in the offing. “The last interaction is not converging; it is diverging, Borrell said in a statement. “The whole process is in danger.”
