Israel Warns Sanctions Relief for Iran Could Mean ‘Terror on Steroids’

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. AFP
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Israel Warns Sanctions Relief for Iran Could Mean ‘Terror on Steroids’

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said funding for Iran could lead to "terror on steroids" on Tuesday, in an apparent warning against world powers easing sanctions against Tehran as they seek a new nuclear deal.

"The last thing you want to do ... is pour tens of billions of dollars into this apparatus. Because what will you get? Terror on steroids," Bennett said in a video address to the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Bennett’s comments came as international talks to save the Iran nuclear deal were held in Vienna on Tuesday.

Negotiations to salvage the nuclear deal resumed on November 29 after they were suspended in June as Iran elected a new ultraconservative president.

Abolfazl Amoui, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, told Al Javan newspaper, which is affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards, that the Vienna talks are far from reaching an agreement despite the progress they have made compared to previous rounds.

He said the challenges obstructing an agreement include the issue of lifting sanctions demanded by Tehran and steps that Iran must take to revert its nuclear program back to JCPOA levels.

Amoui also pointed out that there are challenges related to the implementation of the agreement.

“In our opinion, important issues include verifying that sanctions would be lifted and ensuring that previous conditions are not repeated,” he said.

Amoui added: “A temporary agreement is not what we want.”

He revealed that media reports about a temporary agreement “are not serious.”



Trump Confirms Plan to Use Military for Mass Deportation

 President-elect Donald Trump attends UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York, with Kid Rock, Donald Trump Jr., Dana White and Elon Musk. (AP)
President-elect Donald Trump attends UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York, with Kid Rock, Donald Trump Jr., Dana White and Elon Musk. (AP)
TT

Trump Confirms Plan to Use Military for Mass Deportation

 President-elect Donald Trump attends UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York, with Kid Rock, Donald Trump Jr., Dana White and Elon Musk. (AP)
President-elect Donald Trump attends UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York, with Kid Rock, Donald Trump Jr., Dana White and Elon Musk. (AP)

President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Monday that he plans to declare a national emergency on border security and use the US military to carry out a mass deportation of undocumented migrants.

Immigration was a top issue in the election campaign, and Trump has promised to deport millions and stabilize the border with Mexico after record numbers of migrants crossed illegally during President Joe Biden's administration.

On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump amplified a recent post by a conservative activist that said the president-elect was "prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program."

Alongside the repost, Trump commented, "True!"

Trump sealed a remarkable comeback to the presidency in his November 5 defeat of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

He has been announcing a cabinet featuring immigration hardliners, naming former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting chief Tom Homan as his "border czar."

Homan appeared at the Republican National Convention in July, telling supporters: "I got a message to the millions of illegal immigrants that Joe Biden's released in our country: You better start packing now."

Authorities estimate that some 11 million people are living in the United States illegally. Trump's deportation plan is expected directly to impact around 20 million families.

While the US government has struggled for years to manage its southern border with Mexico, Trump has super-charged concerns by claiming an "invasion" is underway by migrants he says will rape and murder Americans.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly railed against undocumented immigrants, employing incendiary rhetoric about foreigners who "poison the blood" of the United States and misleading his audiences about immigration statistics and policy.

Trump has not elaborated on his immigration crackdown in any detail but during his election campaign repeatedly vowed to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to speed up deportations.

Critics say the law is outdated and point to its most recent use during World War II to hold Japanese-Americans in internment camps without due process.

The number of US border patrol encounters with migrants crossing from Mexico illegally is now about the same as in 2020, the last year of Trump's first term, after peaking at a record 250,000 for the month of December 2023.