PM points out elements "apparently" in nuclear deal that Obama said last year are things that Iran does not need in order to have a peaceful program.
By HERB KEINONObama and Netanyahu(photo credit: REUTERS)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pre-election flip flop on a two state solution, which he later walked-back, will pale in comparison to a US presidential zig-zag if Netanyahu reported accurately to the Knesset on Tuesday on what will be in the nuclear accord being negotiated in Lausanne.“The biggest threat to our security and our future was and remains Iran's attempts to arm with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu saidat the ceremonial opening of the 20th Knesset just hours before the self-imposed deadline for reaching a framework deal between the world powers and Iran.“The agreement being put together in Lausanne paves the way for that result. Apparently it will leave in Iran's hands underground facilities, the [hard-water] reactor at Arak, advanced centrifuges. All those things that only a few months ago we were told, rightfully so, that they were not vital to a peaceful nuclear program.”It was US President Barack Obama who said that each of those elements was not needed for a peaceful program.Obama, during a question-and answer session at the Saban Forum at the Brookings Institution in Washington in December 2012, said the following:“In terms of specifics, we know that they don’t need to have an underground, fortified facility like Fordow in order to have a peaceful nuclear program.“They certainly don’t need a heavy-water reactor at Arak in order to have a peaceful nuclear program. They don’t need some of the advanced centrifuges that they currently possess in order to have a limited, peaceful nuclear program,” Obama said at the time.Netanyahu chose his words carefully, saying these elements will “apparently” be in the agreement, since the details of the deal are still being worked out, and have not been released.
