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.”



EU Targets Iranian Shipping Firms in New Sanctions

European Union flags flutter outside the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
European Union flags flutter outside the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
TT

EU Targets Iranian Shipping Firms in New Sanctions

European Union flags flutter outside the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
European Union flags flutter outside the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

The European Union has widened its sanctions against Iran over Tehran's support of Russia in its war with Ukraine, the European Commission said on Monday.

The Commission said it had added the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its director Mohammad Reza Khiabani - among others - to its sanctions list, Reuters reported.

The fresh sanctions target vessels and ports used for transporting Iranian-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), missiles, and related technologies and components. They include prohibiting any transaction with ports and locks owned, operated, or controlled by the sanctioned individuals and entities.

The EU is also sanctioning three Russian shipping firms - MG Flot, VTS Broker, and Arapax - for transporting Iranian weapons, including drone parts, across the Caspian Sea to resupply Russian troops in Ukraine.