- Israel has destroyed 150 km of Gaza tunnels; 350 km remain.
- US-Iran talks resume this week; Netanyahu unsure of outcome.
- US sends second aircraft carrier to region amid tensions.
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he told US President Donald Trump last week that any US deal with Iran must include the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, not just stopping the enrichment process.
Speaking at the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, Netanyahu also said Israel still needs to “complete the job” of destroying all tunnels in Gaza. Israel, he said, has already dismantled 150 km of an estimated 500 km.
The statement follows CBS reports that President Trump told Netanyahu during a December meeting in Florida he would back Israeli strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile programme if Washington and Tehran failed to reach a deal.
A second round of talks between the US and Iran is slated for this week. Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the US that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday.
Netanyahu said he is sceptical of a deal, but it must include enriched material leaving Iran.
“There shall be no enrichment capability – not stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place,” he said.
Iran and the US renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation.
The US has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, US officials have told Reuters.
Netanyahu also said that he aimed to end US military aid to Israel within the next 10 years, after the current 10-year deal of receiving $3.8 billion a year, which is largely spent in the United States on equipment, ends in 2028.
Due to a thriving economy, “we can afford to phase out the financial component of the military aid that we’re receiving, and I propose a 10-year draw down to zero. Now, in the three years that remain in the present memorandum of understanding and another seven years draw it down to zero,” Netanyahu said.“We want to move with the United States from aid to partnership,” he said.
