President Peres on the negotiations in Geneva regarding Iran's nuclear program
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President and PM on the negotiations in Geneva

  • 11/11/2013
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    ​President Shimon Peres, today (Sunday, 10 November), at the tomb of David Ben-Gurion in Sde Boker, delivered a special address during the state ceremony marking 40 years since his passing. Following are the President's statements on Iran:
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    President Peres addressed the latest round of negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program in Geneva and said, "Yesterday the P5+1 did not come to an agreement, and rightly so. A deal which does not prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power must not be signed. The wording at hand does not answer this requirement. Preventing a nuclear Iran was the P5+1's very purpose and I hope that it remains so. This is also the unyielding position of the State of Israel. We are not opposed to diplomacy to achieve this goal. But there is no point in a deal which would not prevent Iran from becoming nuclear. I believe that our government's position, expressed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is right."
     
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    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this morning (Sunday, 10 November), made the following remarks on Iran at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, which was held in Sde Boker to mark 40 years since the passing of David Ben-Gurion and 50 years since the founding of Midreshet Sde Boker:
     
    "Over the weekend I spoke with US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
     
    I told them that according to the information reaching Israel, the apparent deal is bad and dangerous. It is dangerous not just for us, it is also dangerous for them. It is dangerous for world peace because it lowers the pressure of sanctions that took years to build while on the other hand, Iran, in practice, retains its nuclear enrichment capability as well as the ability to advance along the plutonium track. I emphasize that the proffered deal does not include the dismantling of even one centrifuge.
     
    I asked all the leaders – why the haste? I proposed that they wait, that they consider the matter seriously. This is an historic process and these are historic decisions. I asked to wait.
     
    It is good that this is what was decided in the end but I am not deluding myself – there is a strong desire to reach an agreement, I hope not an agreement at any price, and if there is to be an agreement then it needs to be a good agreement and not a bad agreement. I hope that they will reach a good agreement and we will do our utmost to convince the major powers and the leaders to avoid a bad agreement."