PARIS, April 4. TASS/. Israel will work toward preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power, the Jewish state’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said.
"Our goal: Iran must not become a nuclear state. We are at a moment in history where, thanks to the consensus of the international community, we have a real opportunity to achieve this. How? We shall see. But our determination is shared by the Americans and by France," Israel’s top diplomat told Le Figaro in an interview.
On the likelihood of reaching a new nuclear deal with Iran, Sa’ar said that the political situation globally has changed, with a "tougher president" in the White House and Iran, too, having a new head of state. Therefore, the Israeli minister doubted that a new deal is possible amid major differences on the issue between Washington and Tehran.
Sa’ar also recalled Iranian attacks on Israel in July and October 2024. "Today, everyone is asking the same question: if they did this without nuclear weapons, what will they do the day they have a nuclear umbrella?" he asked rhetorically. "I expect more determination from the international community," he added.
Earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump said he believed that Iran was willing to engage in direct negotiations with Washington, rather than via mediators. On March 7, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that he had written to Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei in an attempt to revive talks over Tehran’s nuclear program. However, Tehran rejected the idea of engaging directly with the United States.
On March 30, Trump promised to impose secondary sanctions on Iran in two weeks if progress was not made in negotiations on its nuclear program. He threatened that if the deal was completely rejected, the Islamic Republic would face unprecedented bombardments. Khamenei said he believed Trump was just blowing hot air with talk of military intervention, but if Washington tried to incite unrest in the Islamic Republic, it would receive a harsh response.
