LONDON, June 12. /TASS/. The Iranian government is ‘dangerously close’ to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which necessitates a tougher response from the West, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet said in an interview to The Telegraph, published on Sunday.
"Iran is enriching uranium at an unprecedented rate and moving dangerously close to getting their hands on nuclear weapons," Bennett told The Telegraph. "Without pressure from the west, the Islamic regime in Iran could get their hands on a nuclear bomb very soon. The world must take a firm stance and tell the Islamic regime in Iran: no nukes, no sanctions. Iran’s nuclear program won’t stop until it’s stopped."
On June 8, the IAEA Board of Directors adopted a resolution criticizing Iran for refusing to explain the origin of uranium particles at three undeclared sites. A total of 30 Council member states voted in favor of the resolution; Russia and China voted against, while India, Libya and Pakistan abstained. Prior to the vote, the Iranian Foreign Ministry noted that adoption of such resolution will disrupt the negotiations process on restoration of the nuclear deal, and vowed to provide a decisive and proportional response after the resolution was adopted.
In 2015, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran in order to overcome the crisis around Tehran’s nuclear research. Previous US President Donald Trump made a decision to withdraw from this agreement in 2018. Current US leader Joe Biden repeatedly sent signals about Washington’s readiness to return to the Nuclear Deal. Russia, the UK, Germany, China, the US and France have been holding talks with Iran in Vienna on restoration of the JCPOA in its initial state since April last year.