JERUSALEM—The U.S.-led nuclear deal with Iran on Tuesday, July 14, dealt a heavy personal blow to Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, leaving him at odds with the international community and with few options for scuttling an agreement he has spent years trying to prevent.
Netanyahu condemned the deal as a “stunning historic mistake,” saying it would not prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons capability. It also did nothing to address the Islamic Republic’s support for hostile extremist groups, he said.
Addressing reporters in English, a grim-faced Netanyahu said he was not bound by the deal, which eases sanctions in exchange for curbs on the suspect Iranian nuclear program, and strongly hinted that military action remains an option.
“Israel is not bound by this deal with Iran because Iran continues to seek our destruction,” he said. “We will always defend ourselves.”
While Netanyahu’s opposition to the deal was shared by his political rivals, translating that sentiment into action won’t be easy. A planned lobbying blitz in the U.S. Congress appears to have slim odds of success, and the military option would carry grave risks and plunge Israel into deep isolation.
For Netanyahu, the deal represented perhaps one of the greatest defeats of his three-decade-long political career. Netanyahu has spent years lecturing audiences about the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran, often describing his battle against Iran as the mission of his lifetime. He has railed against Iran in high-profile speeches at the United Nations, and last March, voiced his opposition to the emerging deal in a speech to the U.S. Congress that enraged the White House.
The White House announced late Tuesday that President Barack Obama had spoken to Netanyahu and told him the deal won’t lessen U.S. concerns about Iran’s support for extremist groups and its threats toward Israel. Obama said a planned visit to Israel next week by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter reflects the high level of security cooperation between the two allies.
