Israel will go all out to sabotage final nuclear deal with Iran: US journalist

An American political commentator and activist says Israel and its lobby in the United States will go all out to sabotage any final nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1.

Stephen Lendman, a writer, syndicated columnist, peace activist and radio show host in Chicago, made the remarks in an email interview with Press TV on Friday while commenting on a mutual understanding reached by Iran and the P5+1 – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – on Thursday in Switzerland over Tehran’s civilian nuclear work.

US President Barack Obama hailed the "historic understanding" with Iran, saying that it paves the way for a final agreement in three months, which would lift all international sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic in exchange for certain steps Tehran will take with regard to its nuclear program.

However, Republican lawmakers in the US Congress have condemned the nuclear understanding, with some saying lifting sanctions on Iran would provoke Israel into an armed conflict with the Islamic Republic. Israeli officials have called it a “historic mistake which will make the world far more dangerous.”

“My view is hold the cheers. On the one hand, the devil is in lots of details kept confidential,” Lendman said. “On the other, America's sordid history shows it can't be trusted. It says one thing. It does another. It violated virtually every treaty, convention and important deal it agreed to.”

“Congress is virulently anti-Iranian. It one-sidedly supports Israel. Legislation may pass giving House and Senate members final say over any eventual deal if consummated by June 30,” Lendman said.

“Israel and its US Lobby intend going all out to sabotage any final agreement - by any means possible. If diplomatic methods fail, Israeli and US hardliners urge war,” he added.

Israel is widely believed to be the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East with more than 200 undeclared nuclear warheads.

Tel Aviv has rejected global calls to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and does not allow international inspectors to observe its controversial nuclear program.

But, Israel and the United States accuse Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the NPT and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

On Thursday, Obama admitted that Iran has so far met all of its obligations, adding that the mutual understanding is based on “unprecedented verification”.

The US president said he is "convinced" that, if the framework understanding leads to a final agreement, "it will make our country, our allies, and our world safer."

“The whole world knows Iran's nuclear program is peaceful. It has no military component. US and Israeli intelligence assessments say so," Lendman said.

“The Islamic Republic is the Middle East region's leading proponent of a nuclear weapons-free world. Its nuclear program and other policies aren't what matter,” he said. "Its sovereign independence arouses Western ire - mainly America's. Israel wants unchallenged regional hegemony."

“Iran is its main rival. Israeli policy aims to eliminate it one way or another - by war if other methods fail. Washington's agenda is no different,” he noted.

“It requires a giant leap of faith to believe consummating any final nuclear deal ahead with Iran will change things. Longstanding US/Israeli hostility remains,” the veteran journalist concluded.

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