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Netanyahu: 'I'm Not Trying To Kill Any Deal' With Iran

A photo released by Government Press Office shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he delivers a statement on April 3 "strongly opposing" the framework deal.
Kobi Gideon
/
AP
A photo released by Government Press Office shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he delivers a statement on April 3 "strongly opposing" the framework deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. to seek a better agreement with Iran over its nuclear weapons program, insisting that he's not trying to kill any deal, just "a bad deal."

Netanyahu, speaking on NBC's Meet the Press,argued that the current plan "leaves the preeminent terrorist state of our time with a vast nuclear infrastructure."

He lamented that "not one centrifuge is destroyed" under the agreement.

Netanyahu also warned that lifting sanctions on Tehran could "spark an arms race among the Sunni states, a nuclear arms race in the Middle East."

His appearances on Sunday news shows come after last week's framework agreement between Tehran and six world powers, including the U.S., that would limit Iran's ability to enrich uranium, convert an enrichment facility into a research center and allow inspections to ensure compliance.

On CNN's State of the Union, the Israeli leader said he's spoken to nearly two-thirds of House and Senate lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about the issue.

"This is not a partisan issue. This is not solely an Israeli issue," Netanyahu said on CNN. "This is a world issue because everyone is going to be threatened by the pre-eminent terrorist state of our time, keeping the infrastructure to produce not one nuclear bomb but many, many nuclear bombs down the line."

He did not, however, reiterate remarks made last week that any final agreement must include a "clear and unambiguous Iranian commitment of Israel's right to exist."

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on CBS' Face The Nation, said: "Is there a better deal to be had? I think so."

However, California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, on CNN, said she wished that Netanyahu "would contain himself."

"I don't think it's helpful for Israel to come out and oppose this one opportunity to change a major dynamic, which is downhill, a downhill dynamic in this part of the world," she said.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.