Netanyahu maintains his rage for Iran nuclear deal

Benjamin Netanyahu maintained the rage against the US-brokered deal on Iran’s nuclear program .

Portraits of the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right), and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Benjamin Netanyahu maintained the rage against the US-brokered deal on Iran’s nuclear program after Israel and other critics lost a last-ditch bid to persuade congress to scuttle the sanctions trade off.

The Israeli Prime Minister ­defended his fierce criticism of the deal and lobbying of US politicians to strike it down, saying most Americans agreed with him about the dangers posed by the Islamic hardliners running Iran.

“I must say that the overwhelming majority of the American public sees eye to eye with us on the danger from Iran,’’ Mr Netanyahu said in Jerusalem.

“And it is important to reach out to American public opinion with the fact that Iran is the enemy of the US — it declares this openly — and Israel is the ally of the US.

“This understanding has important ramifications for our ­security future.’’

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, broke his silence yesterday, warning that the agreement to curtail Iran’s nuclear program would be off if world powers insisted on suspending rather than lifting the sanctions crippling his country’s economy.

He advanced no view on the deal in remarks reported by state TV, saying it was up to the Iranian parliament, not him, to approve or reject it.

Ayatollah Khamenei said references by some US officials to the “suspension’’ of sanctions were not acceptable.

“If the sanctions are going to be suspended, then we will also fulfil our obligations on the ground at the level of suspension and not in a fundamental way,’’ he said.

In response, a White House spokesman said Barack Obama’s administration would focus on Tehran’s actions rather than the rhetoric of the leadership.

Under the historic agreement reached with the P5+1 group of ­nations comprising the permanent UN security council members as well as Germany, Iran will give up most of its capacity to mill uranium and plutonium into weapons-grade fuel in return for progressive sanctions relief.

Israel, however, has not been placated by Mr Obama’s assur­ances that the economic blockade can be reimposed if the Iranians breach their undertakings.

Mr Netanyahu and like-minded critics say the international powers gave away too much, and Iran retains the capability to “break out’’ and build a nuclear bomb.

The final hurdle to the agreement, clinched on July 14, was cleared when Mr Obama secured the final votes to steer the nuclear pact through the US Senate on Thursday. That was when the 34th Democrat senator came on board to lock in the numbers to uphold a presidential veto of the resolution of disapproval that rival Republicans were trying to ram through congress.

A further three Senate Democrats committed their votes yesterday, only four short of what’s needed to block the Republicans and relieve the pressure on Mr Obama to intervene.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments will cause some jitters about the Iranians’ position, with analysts suggesting he was using the cover of the parliament, the Majlis, to keep open the option of repudiating the deal.

In New York, the speaker of the Majlis, Ali Larijani, said he supported the agreement.

But he echoed the Supreme Leader in arguing for Iranian parliamentarians to have the final say.

“The agreement needs to be discussed and needs to be approved by the Iranian parliament,’’ Mr Larijani said. “There will be heated discussions and debates.”

US Vice-President Joe Biden said Israel would be safer under the deal, as he continued to trail his coat for a run at the top job in next year’s presidential election.