29 Mar 2024
Tuesday 4 August 2015 - 13:35
Story Code : 174676

If I were Israeli, I'd support Iran deal: US Energy Secretary Moniz

Deal's critics forget Iran was threshold state before the talks, Moniz tells Israeli correspondents

"If I was Israeli - I would support the Iran deal," US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said on Sunday in a special briefing for Israeli diplomatic correspondents visiting Washington.

The official added that the agreement represents "a commitment from Iran to never have nuclear weapons; it's not for 10 or 15 years - it's forever."

As the debate on the merits of the deal intensifies, Moniz - a former MIT physics professor who was deeply involved in the technical aspects of the negotiations between world powers and Iran - is convinced that the deal will enable significant monitoring of Iran's intentions: "For 15 years there are significant constraints on their nuclear activity, but after that - the word verified is critical - from day one to forever we will have greater insight and greater verification options with the agreement then without it."

According to Moniz, "we have significantly increased the possibility of the Iranians getting caught if they try to break out and the consequences should be greater - the risks of them trying to break out of these lines are higher."

Countering the common Israeli claim against the deal, Moniz said that "there is a lot of emphasis on Iran being a threshold state in 15 years - but a lot less emphasis on the fact that Iran was a threshold state before these negotiations started."

Moniz acknowledged Israel's concerns regarding the deal but pointed out that the issue of additional resources to be made available to Iran once international sanctions are lifted has "been overstated".

Fabrice Coffrini (AFP)

He stressed that the deal does not "change in one iota who our friends and allies are in the region Israel, Gulf states and some Arab states. Iran doesn't move out of the box unless support for terror is addressed, unless human rights is addressed and that the rhetoric particularly around Israel will change dramatically."

Regarding repeated concerns about side agreements between Iran and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), Moniz clarified that "there is no secret side agreement. The deal says clearly that Iran must finally cooperate with the IAEA so that the IAEA can complete its investigation of the Possible Military Dimensions" of Iran's activity in the past.

He further stressed that the US is not aware of the contents of the side agreement because of the standard IAEA safeguards - the agreement is between the IAEA and the country involved and its details cannot be released without a country giving permission."

Regarding the clause on IAEA inspections and concerns about Iran getting advanced 24-day warning before allowing IAEA access to suspicious sites, Moniz said that If Iran does not provide access "they are in material breach, and we can take the actions we choose to take."

Moniz outright rejected the comparisons made by opponents of the deal with North Korea's nuclear program and said that "the situation here is night and day different. In North Korea there was very limited IAEA access they did not have many opportunities to go to declared facilities and none to go to undeclared facilities."

By i24news
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