- Israel destroyed 150 km of tunnels in Gaza; There are 350 km left.
- US-Iran talks resume this week; Netanyahu is unsure of the outcome.
- The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier to the region amid tensions.
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he told US President Donald Trump last week that any US deal with Iran must include dismantling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, not just halting the enrichment process.
Speaking at the annual conference of presidents of major American Jewish organizations, Netanyahu also said that Israel still had to “finish the job” of destroying all the tunnels in Gaza. Israel, he said, has already dismantled 150 km out of an estimated distance of 500 km.
A second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran is scheduled for this week. Iran is seeking a nuclear deal with the United States that would bring economic benefits to both sides, an Iranian diplomat reportedly said on Sunday.
Netanyahu has said he is skeptical of a deal, but it must include enriched material leaving Iran.
“There must be no enrichment capability – not stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and infrastructure that enables enrichment in the first place,” he said.
Iran and the United States resumed negotiations earlier this month to resolve their decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program and avoid a new military confrontation.
The United States has sent a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if talks fail, U.S. officials told Reuters.
Netanyahu also said he intended to end U.S. military aid to Israel within the next 10 years, after the current 10-year deal providing $3.8 billion a year, much of which is spent in the United States on equipment, ends in 2028.
With a thriving economy, “we can afford to phase out the financial component of the military aid we receive, and I propose a reduction over 10 years down to zero. Now, in the three years remaining in this memorandum of understanding and seven more years, bring it down to zero,” Netanyahu said. “We want to move with the United States from aid to partnership,” he said.
