SAN DIEGO (SDJW) — Reactions to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on what he described as Iran’s nuclear deception were mixed within the Jewish community. Following are statements from organizations within the community:
AIPAC — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed startling new evidence today that Iran has been lying to the international community about its nuclear program for decades. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must immediately reopen its investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s program. The IAEA must demand access to Iran’s nuclear scientists and nuclear sites—starting with the site that housed the nuclear archive and extending to suspect military installations.
Iran has clearly misled the world about its nuclear program. It has done so consistently for the past 15 years. Iran’s behavior calls into question whether the IAEA can rely on anything that Tehran has told it.
Israel’s revelations underscore the importance of the United States and our allies fully addressing the shortcomings of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. We cannot rely on inadequate inspections. We cannot allow Iran to develop ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. And we cannot rely on Iran’s promises that it will not develop nuclear weapons when restrictions on its program start to sunset.
AMERICANS FOR PEACE NOW — Following claims by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran is violating the terms of the multilateral deal designed to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons, Americans for Peace Now insists that diplomacy, inspections, and verification are more vital now than ever. If anything, Netanyahu’s revelations regarding the history of Iran’s nuclear program highlight how essential the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is, providing the international community with a tool to curb Iran’s ambitions to build nuclear weapons.
Israel’s alleged obtaining of Iran’s secret nuclear archive appears to be an impressive intelligence coup. The evidence that Netanyahu showed, allegedly proving that Iran has continued working to build nuclear weapons while lying about it, is indeed a major cause for concern.
An understanding that Iran was determined to build nuclear weapons is the very reason that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany (known as the P5+1) strove to fashion a nuclear deal with Iran in the first place. While the JCPOA provided Iran with sanctions relief as an incentive to abandon its nuclear weapons program, the signatories to the deal assumed it likely that Iran would attempt to cheat. Thus, the deal provides for a robust inspections regime. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and national security experts from a number of countries – including the United States and Israel – have recently indicated that Iran is abiding by the terms of the agreement.
If Prime Minister Netanyahu possesses evidence to the contrary, proving that Iran is violating the agreement, it is incumbent upon him to share this information with the IAEA. The IAEA can then use recourse provided by the JCPOA to conduct additional inspections. If it emerges that Iran is indeed violating its obligations, sanctions waived by the P5+1 can be snapped back quickly.
If the JCPOA did not exist, there would be no inspections regime or multilateral framework through which to address Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons. Any push to jettison diplomacy and international agreements in favor of war would have disastrous regional consequences, likely to exceed the disastrous results of the 2003 Iraq war. The serious crisis brewing between Israel and Iran in Syria underscores the volatility of the present moment.
The JCPOA must be given a chance to succeed.
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Preceding provided by the organizations quoted above.