Ayatollah Says West Can't Prevent Iran Nuclear Weapons; Netanyahu Disagrees
JERUSALEM, Israel – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei claimed Sunday that western powers cannot stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
On a visit to an exhibition of an Iranian nuclear program, Khamenei said, "On the basis of our Islamic ideals, we do not want nuclear weapons. But if this wasn't the case, they would not be able to prevent us from doing so, just like they could not prevent our nuclear advancements so far."
Meanwhile, Israel Hayom quoted a senior Israeli source who said, "Iran knows that if it breaks out uranium enrichment to 90%, there will be an Israeli attack."
The comments came as talk increased about the Biden administration's interest in the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned during Sunday's cabinet meeting, "A return to the nuclear agreement with Iran will not stop the Iranian nuclear program and will only allow Iran to funnel money to terrorist organizations under its sponsorship in the Middle East and around Israel's borders."
Netanyahu stressed that the level of cooperation with Washington is "at an all-time record high." However, he said that in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last Thursday, "I emphasized again that no arrangement with Iran will oblige Israel. With or without an agreement, we will continue to do all that is necessary to defend the State of Israel."
The White House is feeling heat from Republicans in Congress who are worried about a recent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report warning that Iran's path to weapons-grade enriched nuclear uranium can now be measured in days. In an op-ed in Monday's edition of The Jerusalem Post, Representative Claudia Tenney (R-New York) advocated slapping immediate snapback sanctions on the Iranian regime.
"Where are the consequences and who is holding Iran accountable?," she wrote. "While the Islamic Republic grows bolder and more violent, the Biden administration and our European allies are responding by clinging desperately to the past, holding onto the absurd hope that the Iran nuclear deal can somehow be revived."
Tenney added, "It should go without saying, but appeasing rogue actors in this way simply does not work, ever. It did not work with previous despots, and it will not work with those abusing power now. We cannot continue to cede ground and give Iran more leverage."
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