Senior Israeli Official: Iran Deal is Over; Israel Exposes Iranian Lies to U.S., Europe

The Iran deal will not be signed, a senior Israeli official said on Monday, adding that Israel provided the U.S. and Europe with ample proof that the Iranians were lying throughout the negotiations, Hebrew media reported.

“There’s not going to be a nuclear deal, according to the Americans and most Europeans. They say we have a lot of reservations about the possibility of a nuclear agreement. Everyone has their own excuse,” said a senior official who is traveling with Prime Minister Yair Lapid during a visit to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to the Times of Israel.

According to the official, the European partners to the deal are concerned that Russia will aid Iran in evading nuclear sanctions.

“We gave information to the Europeans that proved that the Iranians are lying while talks are still happening. Add to this the fact that the Europeans are more afraid than the Americans that the Russians are a player in this issue, and that the Iranians will have a way to evade sanctions. We of course encouraged this,” the official said.

“It’s time to start a strategic dialogue with the Americans and Europeans about a longer stronger agreement. But what we need now is for the Americans to put a credible military threat (in place,) and everyone to push for a better agreement.”

“We need an agreement without sunset clauses,” the official added, referring to the fact that the current accord, and its Obama-led predecessor from 2015, allows Tehran to enrich unlimited amounts of uranium once the deal elapses in about a decade.

“There are no talks right now with Iran. There is no one in Vienna. There will be a point at which the schedule will force everyone to say that the talks have ended.״

According to the official, Israel has successfully pushed U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley out of the conversation when talking with the White House.

“This is out of the hands of Malley’s camp by now. The decisive talks that we are doing with the U.S. are no longer in Malley’s hands,” he said.

Senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Mossad chief David Barnea, have recently returned from high-stakes talks in the U.S. in a bid to prevent the imminent signing of the nuclear deal.

Barnea on Monday said that even if the deal did go ahead, it would “not provide immunity” for Iran from the Mossad’s operations.

He added that the spy agency had thwarted dozens of Iranian terror attacks against Israelis and Jews around the world in recent months.

“This is state terror ordered by leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] perpetrated by the IRGC” and other Iranian security organizations, are not spontaneous, but planned systematic and strategic terrorism acts,” he said.

If a deal is signed, the spy chief went on, there will be “no restraint on Iranian terror” with the billions that will suddenly free up with the lifting of sanctions.

“Iranian terror is a set part of the Iranian threat to many countries all over the world. It is a central aspect of the ayatollahs world view.”

Noting Iranian assassination attempts on two former U.S. officials from the Trump administration, national security adviser John Bolton and secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Barnea said: “Iran talks with the US about the nuclear program while trying to murder Americans.”

Last week, Barnea delivered crucial intelligence to CIA Director William Burns. Days later, the Iran deal was once again at an impasse.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Monday said he revealed “sensitive and relevant intelligence information” on Iran’s nuclear program to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with whom he was meeting in Berlin.

The Israeli leader also told his German counterpart that a new Iran deal would be a “grave mistake” that would lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and trigger a new wave of terror attacks, and that it was time to move on from attempts to revive it.

“A nuclear Iran will destabilize the Middle East and create a nuclear arms race that will endanger the entire world,” he said.