Israel condemns Iran nuclear deal

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, denounced the framework deal between Iran and world powers to contain Tehran's nuclear programme as a "historic mistake", saying the agreement carried the risk of causing "a horrific war".

"Just two days ago, Iran said that 'the destruction of Israel is non-negotiable' and in these fateful days Iran is accelerating the arming of its terror proxies to attack Israel," Mr Netanyahu said on Friday.

The prime minister's intervention followed marathon talks between the P5+1 powers - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - over eight days in Switzerland, which culminated in an outline agreement that will substantially restrict Iran's atomic programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Mr Netanyahu was referring to remarks by Mohammad Reza Naqdi, commander of Iran's Basij paramilitary force, who on Tuesday said Israel's destruction was "non-negotiable".

The Israeli leader, who has made preventing a nuclear-armed Iran a central plank of his three terms in office and lobbied repeatedly against a "bad deal" with Tehran, spoke on the eve of the week-long Passover Jewish holiday. He added: "A deal would not block Iran's path to the bomb; it would pave it. It would increase the risks of nuclear proliferation in the region and the risks of a horrific war."

An Israeli spokesman said that in a telephone call to Barack Obama, US president, Mr Netanyahu said the deal could "threaten the survival of Israel". The Israeli leader's sharp criticism of the US-led talks with Iran has frayed his government's relations with the White House.

The Lausanne agreement, which sets a deadline of June 30 for a final accord, requires Iran to get rid of about two-thirds of its installed centrifuges for enriching uranium, scale back activities at its enrichment facility at Fordow, redesign its heavy water research reactor at Arak and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear facilities and supply chain.

In return it will receive relief for the sanctions crippling its economy if it abides by its commitments, although a "snap back" clause will see sanctions reimposed in case of any significant breach.

Mr Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have repeatedly hinted that their hardline stance on Iran's nuclear programme has the backing of Sunni Gulf states and others in the region who also fear a nuclear-armed Tehran.

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Many of Iran's neighbours, including Azerbaijan and Armenia, welcomed the deal. Al-Watan, the Saudi Arabian pro-government daily, described "cautious optimism" about the deal while al-Khaleej, a United Arab Emirates newspaper, said Iran "offered substantial concessions" on its nuclear programme.

But hostility toward the agreement lurked just below the surface. Among Iran's Arab and Sunni neighbours, much of the unofficial reaction was negative.

Many across the Middle East see the nuclear discussion solely through the prism of Iran's regional role, and believe a deal would further embolden Iran to back Shia and other allies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Faisal al-Qasim, an Al Jazeera presenter with 2.3m followers on Twitter, lamented the framework deal, but said it would at least weaken Iran.

"Iran will regain its frozen assets, move closer to the West and will be freed from [international] pressure and sanctions, but it will also be stripped of its honour and nuclear prowess," he wrote.

In Israel, the prime minister convened his government security advisers on Friday morning to discuss the agreement.

But analysts say an Israeli military strike against Iran - as Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened - is highly unlikely without US backing.

Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian politics lecturer at Israel's Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, said Mr Netanyahu was right to be concerned about a deal with Iran, given Tehran's threats against Israel over the past 36 years.

However, he added the Lausanne deal was "a good framework arrangement for the security of the state of Israel" because it would stop Iran from making a nuclear weapon with either enriched uranium or plutonium, as well as providing for international inspections of its known nuclear sites.

Some commentators were critical of Mr Netanyahu's handling of the diplomacy, arguing that his rhetoric undermining the US-led talks had weakened Israel's hand on a vital national security issue - and boxed the Israeli prime minister into a corner.

"He has thus far failed to convince six governments and world opinion that he's right," said Shlomo Avineri, professor of politics at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

"Is he going to do something, or talk? Talk thus far has failed."

Israeli media reaction to the framework agreement was mixed. Alex Fishman, defence correspondent in the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, said the US had "sold out" Israel and its other allies in the Middle East. "None of the clauses listed in the declaration of principles show that Iran's military nuclear programme will be converted to civilian-scientific purposes," he wrote.

However, Nahum Barnea, a columnist for the same paper, wrote: "The truth should be told: This was a resounding failure for Israel. As the clash between Netanyahu and Obama on the Iranian issue heightened, Israel's influence on the course of the negotiations and its outcome lessened."

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