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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
London - Davos - Asharq Al-Awsat

Israel Warns Sanctions Relief for Iran Could Mean ‘Terror on Steroids’

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said funding for Iran could lead to "terror on steroids" on Tuesday, in an apparent warning against world powers easing sanctions against Tehran as they seek a new nuclear deal.

"The last thing you want to do ... is pour tens of billions of dollars into this apparatus. Because what will you get? Terror on steroids," Bennett said in a video address to the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Bennett’s comments came as international talks to save the Iran nuclear deal were held in Vienna on Tuesday.

Negotiations to salvage the nuclear deal resumed on November 29 after they were suspended in June as Iran elected a new ultraconservative president.

Abolfazl Amoui, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, told Al Javan newspaper, which is affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards, that the Vienna talks are far from reaching an agreement despite the progress they have made compared to previous rounds.

He said the challenges obstructing an agreement include the issue of lifting sanctions demanded by Tehran and steps that Iran must take to revert its nuclear program back to JCPOA levels.

Amoui also pointed out that there are challenges related to the implementation of the agreement.

“In our opinion, important issues include verifying that sanctions would be lifted and ensuring that previous conditions are not repeated,” he said.

Amoui added: “A temporary agreement is not what we want.”

He revealed that media reports about a temporary agreement “are not serious.”

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