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Netanyahu: No evidence Iran will end nuke program

ime Minister Netanyahu speaking in Prague

Speaking in Prague, prime minister compares Iran’s nuclear drive

to that of North Korea’s, says goal of upcoming negotiations should be freeze, removal of Iranian

enrichment; IAEA expresses optimism ahead of talks.

ime Minister Netanyahu speaking in Prague

Prime

Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday dismissed a new surge of optimism in the international community

that Iran might be prepared to halt its nuclear program. “I have seen no evidence whatsoever that Iran

is serous about stopping its nuclear weapons program,” Netanyahu said at the tail end of his meeting in

Prague with the president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus.

In their meeting, Netanyahu

expressed concern about talks by the six powers — US, Russia, China, France, Germany and Great Britain

— on Iran, set to take place in Baghdad on May 23. These talks follow a meeting held in Istanbul in

April.

“It looks as though they (Iran) see these talks as another opportunity to deceive and

delay, just like North Korean did for years,” Netanyahu said. “They may try to go from meeting to

meeting with empty promises. They may agree to something in principle but not implement it. They may

even agree to implement something that does not materially derail their nuclear weapons program,” he

said.

“Iran is good at playing this chess game. They know that sometimes you have to sacrifice a

pawn to save the King,” Netanyahu said.

“The goal of these negotiations should be very clear.

Freeze all enrichment inside Iran. Remove all enriched material and dismantle [the uranium enrichment

facility near the city of] Qom,” he said.

“When this goal is achieved I will be the first to

applaud. Until then count me among the skeptics,” he said.

Netanyahu arrived in the Czech

Republic earlier on Thursday accompanied by seven cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister Avigdor

Liberman. After the prime minister met with his counterpart, Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas, the

Israeli and Czech delegations signed a joint declaration expressing “concern at Iran’s efforts to

enrich uranium for military purposes, even as it threatens to destroy Israel.”

In an exclusive

interview with The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, Necas said that the Czech Republic would like to

continue to be a strong supporter of Israel within the European Union. “We are concerned about the

Iranian missile and nuclear programs,” he said.

Netanyahu’s comments came amid optimism

expressed by diplomats involved in Iran-International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) negotiations over the

former’s contentious nuclear program. Iran is seeking a framework deal over its atomic activity, which

it says is needed before it can consider a request by UN inspectors to visit the Parchin military site

where they believe explosives tests relevant for developing nuclear weapons may have been carried

out.

The IAEA and Iran held talks this week in Vienna and are due to meet again on May 21, two

days before Tehran and the six global powers discuss the future of its disputed nuclear program in

Baghdad.

Two previous rounds of talks in Tehran early this year failed to make any notable

progress. But both sides were more upbeat after the May 14-15 meeting in the Austrian capital, raising

hopes of a possible outcome when talks resume on Monday.

A non-Western envoy said:

“Progress has been made. There are still one or two outstanding issues. My impression is that both

sides have the willingness to move forward.”

 

Iran denies having a covert atomic

bomb agenda, saying it is enriching uranium only for a future network of civilian nuclear power

stations and a medical isotope reactor.

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