Barbok in Israel: Return to JCPOA will make the region safer

The German Foreign Minister stressed that he was convinced that a full return to the JCPOA agreement would make the region and Israel safer. Lapid also emphasized that a nuclear Iran would be a threat not only to Israel but to the entire world.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said in a joint press conference with her Israeli counterpart that nuclear talks with Iran have entered the "final phase" and that, despite Israel's reservations about the agreement, returning to the JCPOA would make the region safer.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid also participated in the press conference, which was held in Tel Aviv on Thursday, February 10.

Barbook is referring to talks taking place this week in Vienna between Iran and Germany, Britain, France, China and Russia, with the indirect presence of the United States. The aim of the talks is to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, from which former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018.

Iran and Israel are bitter enemies in the region. The leaders of the Islamic Republic have repeatedly emphasized that their goal is the destruction of Israel. Israel has also carried out several cyber and drone attacks against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Israeli leaders have repeatedly said that they will not abide by any agreement between Iran and world powers, and this could mean military action against Iran.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said at the press conference that he and his German counterpart had discussed the nuclear talks, and that Lapid had conveyed Israel's position to Barbook that "a nuclear Iran is dangerous not only for Israel but for the entire world."

The Israeli Foreign Minister has said: "Iran is an exporter of terror from Yemen to Buenos Aires, and an agreement with this country must also include Iran's regional interventionist activities."

Lapid is referring to the bombing of the Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires in the 1990s, in which the then Islamic Republic authorities were involved.

The German Foreign Minister also emphasized that he is fully convinced that "a full return to the JCPOA can make the region and Israel safer, otherwise we would not be holding these negotiations."

Ms. Barbook continued: "We will do everything we can to make sure that Israel's security is guaranteed with this agreement."

"Determined to reach a good agreement"

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a speech on the occasion of the anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, stated regarding the Vienna talks on Thursday: "We are at the negotiating table with seriousness, a plan, and initiative, and we are determined to reach a good agreement."

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic said that the timing of the end of negotiations and reaching an agreement depends on "the willingness of the Western parties to fully adhere to the lifting of sanctions and the return of all parties to their commitments."

Amir Abdollahian said: "Today in Vienna, a great test lies before America and the Western parties, who must demonstrate their true behavior before the international community."

Iran wants all sanctions lifted while the West wants Iran to return to all its commitments under the JCPOA. Iran has been gradually canceling these commitments and has been enriching high-purity uranium for some time now, contrary to the JCPOA.

American experts have repeatedly said that Iran is only a few months away from achieving the ability to build a nuclear bomb.

Source: DW