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Israel calls Iran deal ‘historic mistake’

336500_Benjamin Netanyahu  (1)

Israel has described as a “historic mistake,” the deal struck between Iran and the Sextet of world powers over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.

During a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “what was achieved yesterday in Geneva is not a historic agreement but rather a historic mistake” that is bad for Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called the deal Tehran’s “greatest diplomatic victory” as the country has gained recognition for its “legitimate right to enrich uranium.”

Israel’s Economy Minister Naftali Bennett has also said that Tel Aviv is not bound by the agreement.

After more than four days of intense negotiations, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, Britain, Russia, France, China– plus Germany, sealed an interim deal in Geneva on Sunday morning to pave the way for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program.

Senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have been hard at work in recent weeks trying to discredit Washington’s strategy with Tehran.

The aggressive lobbying campaign included one-on-one briefings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, which provided data that strayed from official US assessments of Iran’s nuclear program.

US President Barack Obama has welcomed the deal as “an important first step toward a comprehensive solution.”

In exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the United States and its allies have agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions and offer access to a portion of the revenue that Tehran has been denied through these sanctions.

According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the deal allows Iran to continue its activities at Arak, Fordow and Natanz facilities. The agreement also stipulates that no additional sanctions will be imposed on Tehran because of its nuclear energy program.

Also on Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the country’s right to uranium enrichment is enshrined in the nuclear agreement with the Sextet.

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