The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency will visit the United States in early September for talks on the possible revival of the Iran nuclear deal, an official said Sunday.

The announced visit is the latest in the Jewish state's push to sway Western powers from a deal to return to the landmark 2015 deal with Tehran.

Israel says a deal would facilitate the funding of Iran-supported militants, while not preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon -- a goal Iran has always denied.

Mossad chief David Barnea will "be visiting Washington in a week to participate in closed door meetings in Congress on the Iran deal," a senior Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity, without providing further details.

Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that Israel's "diplomatic fight" against the deal included its national security advisor and defence minister holding recent meetings in the United States.

"We are making a concerted effort to ensure the Americans and Europeans understand the dangers involved in this agreement," Lapid said, stressing what was signed in 2015 was "not a good deal," and that the one currently being formulated entails "greater dangers."

In 2018, then-US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

His successor Joe Biden has sought to return to the deal, and after almost a year-and-a-half of talks, recent progress has put the Jewish state on edge.

According to Lapid, a new agreement would have to include an expiration date, and tighter supervision that would also "address Iran's ballistic missile program and its involvement in terrorism throughout the Middle East."

"We can reach such an agreement if a credible military threat is put on the table, if the Iranians realise that their defiance and deceit will exact a heavy price," Lapid said, adding that the army and Mossad had "received instructions from us to prepare for any scenario".

On Wednesday, Lapid said a new deal would "give Iran $100 billion a year" that would be used by Iran-backed militant groups Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, and noted he was holding talks with the leadership of Britain, France and Germany on the issue.

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Iran urges IAEA to end undeclared nuclear sites issue
Tehran (AFP) Aug 25, 2022
Iran's top diplomat on Thursday demanded that the UN nuclear watchdog drop the issue of three undeclared sites, as momentum builds to revive a 2015 nuclear deal. The United States remains adamant that Tehran cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency to clear up suspicions about earlier work at three undeclared sites. In June, the IAEA's board of governors adopted a resolution censuring Iran for failing to adequately explain the previous discovery of traces of enriched uranium at thre ... read more