Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that he will present to US President Joe Biden a plan to curb Iran's nuclear program and its regional activity, while the Iranian president confirmed that his country has fulfilled its obligations under the nuclear agreement, calling for the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian funds in Japan.
The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, quoted Bennett as saying today, Sunday, during his weekly cabinet meeting, that the Iranian nuclear file will be the focus of his meeting with Biden next Thursday at the White House.
"I will tell President Biden that it is time to rein in the Iranians, not give them a lifeline in the form of re-entering a nuclear deal that has already expired," he added.
Israel strongly opposes the United States returning to the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and major international powers, after the administration of former US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018.
About 10 days ago, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said - in his statements during his visit to Morocco - that although he did not support the nuclear agreement with Iran, he did not know an alternative plan.
Earlier this month, CIA Director William Burns held talks with senior Israeli officials, and Israeli media said he told them that the chances of Tehran returning to the nuclear deal had become more difficult.
Under former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Tel Aviv went so far as to publicly threaten unilateral action against Iran to stop what it says are Iran's accelerating activities to build a nuclear weapon.
Raisi during his meeting in Tehran with the Japanese Foreign Minister (Anatolia)
Obligations and penalties
In Tehran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi affirmed today that Tehran does not oppose the principle of negotiation, and that it has complied with all its commitments in the nuclear agreement.
Raisi said - during his meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi - that Washington was the one who withdrew from this agreement and intensified economic pressure on Iran, adding that it must be held accountable for this, as he put it.
He added that there is no justification for the continuation of economic sanctions on his country, and called on the Japanese government to release the Iranian funds frozen in its banks.
As for the Japanese Foreign Minister, he said that his country stresses the importance of the nuclear agreement, and believes that its revival will benefit everyone and will lead to settling differences through dialogue and negotiations.
A few days ago, a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on the acceleration of uranium enrichment in Iran sparked US and European criticism of Tehran, which in turn confirmed the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
Negotiations aimed at reviving the nuclear agreement were halted last June, and Washington says that the ball is now in the Iranian president's court to return to talks that began last April and made some progress, but it was not enough to agree on the requirements for a mutual return to the nuclear agreement by Washington and Tehran.