Israel is worried the United States is racing to revive the Iran nuclear deal at all costs, officials said Sunday evening in the conclusion of a Security Cabinet meeting.
Assembling for the first time in two months, the Cabinet's agenda revolved mainly around Iran as tensions between Jerusalem and Tehran were escalating amid reports of the two nations being locked in a covert maritime standoff and Israel's alleged involvement in a blast in the Islamic Republic's uranium enrichment facility in Natanz last week.
Ministers also expressed great concern at Iran and the Biden administration negotiating a U.S. return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from which former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
"It is not a situation in which the Americans want to stand their ground. They're giving up more than the Iranians are asking for. Their goal is racing towards an agreement at all costs," senior officials said.
"The Iranians know that the deal will be signed no matter what, so they are doing the most to maximize their gains. The Americans hear our concerns, but the question is whether they are even listening. It's not clear whether we're heading towards an escalation with Iran."
Last Friday, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said that the country has begun 60% uranium enrichment at its Natanz plant and was producing about nine grams of 60% enriched uranium per hour.
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Uranium enrichment centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran
(Photo: AP)
Biden on Friday called the move "unhelpful" but said he is pleased Tehran is still in indirect talks with Washington about both countries resuming compliance with the nuclear deal.
"We do not support and do not think it's at all helpful that Iran is saying it's going to move to enrich to 60 percent," Biden told reporters in Washington during a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.