US-Iran nuclear deal cause of concern: Israel

JERUSALEM: Israel on Monday said that it is concerned about the billions of dollars that could go to terror organisation Hamas if the US lifts its sanctions on Iran. In a special virtual exchange with the Indian media, Nevo Barchad, the head of the counter-terrorism department in the strategic affairs division of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that though Israel trusts the judgment of its old friend and US President Joe Biden, it has concerns about the funds that will go to Hamas once the US lifts sanctions on Iran, which is the major sponsor of the Islamist terror group operating in Gaza.

The Biden administration is likely to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — which had been negotiated by P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the UK, the US plus Germany) together with the European Union.

Recently, indirect talks on the restoration of the agreement between the US and Iran resumed in Vienna.

In response to an IANS question on the latest development, Barchad said that Israel has opposed the JCPOA.

"We think it is a bad deal. If P5+1 are holding indirect talks and if Americans are going back to the deal, we hope it includes various changes and with a stronger enforcement. We also hope that the Americans won't lift all the sanctions," the top Israeli official said. (IANS)

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