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Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-makes-final-push-to-shape-restored-iran-nuclear-deal-11662304411
Israel Makes Final Push to Shape Restored Iran Nuclear Deal
(Wall Street Journal) Dov Lieber and Laurence Norman - The Israeli government has in recent days broken with its quiet approach to diplomacy on the Iran deal negotiations. "This deal isn't a good deal. It was not a good deal when it was signed back in 2015. Today, the dangers it entails are even greater," said Mr. Lapid in a briefing to journalists last week. A U.S. official said Israel's election season was partly responsible for the more heated rhetoric coming from politicians there around the deal, which is broadly unpopular in Israel. The Biden administration has kept Israel closely informed about the negotiations, said people familiar with the discussions, allowing Israel to nudge privately against concessions and potentially heighten Washington's sensitivity to Israel's concerns, leading the U.S. to tread more carefully. U.S. officials say a restored deal would substantially curtail Iran's nuclear program, remove most of its stockpile of enriched uranium and oblige Iran to remove hundreds of advanced centrifuges that produce enriched uranium. It would increase Iran's breakout time - how quickly it can produce enough nuclear fuel for one weapon - to six to seven months compared with the current time span of a few weeks. Israeli officials say restoring the 2015 deal now is dangerous because Iran has made so much progress on its nuclear program since then. The agreement has sunset provisions that essentially allow Iran to enrich unlimited amounts of uranium by 2030.