BICOM

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned against allowing Iran to maintain a nuclear capability, following a two hour meeting with United States National Security Advisor Susan Rice in Jerusalem.

Rice was heading a US delegation of senior defence and intelligence officials, to hold consultations with their Israeli counterparts, mainly on the issue of Iran’s nuclear development. The visit comes just days before the latest round of talks between Tehran and the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) in Vienna at which the two sides are expected to begin discussing language for a long-term deal over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Although Netanyahu’s office made no official comment on the meeting with Rice, officials did circulate comments made by Netanyahu later yesterday at a separate event, during which he said, “I want to reiterate Israel’s position: We think that Iran must not have the capacity to make atomic bombs …  A bad deal would let them keep those capacities. It’s better to have no deal than a bad deal.” It is thought that the P5+1 powers are prepared to allow Iran to maintain some enrichment capacity.

A statement by the White House said that Rice “reiterated that the United States will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that diplomacy is the best way to resolve the international community’s concerns peacefully.” It also specified that Rice “emphasised the critical importance of pursuing a comprehensive solution that assures the international community that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.”

During her visit, Rice also met with President Shimon Peres, who said, “We need to examine the Iranians’ seriousness – whether they are offering only words, or taking real actions.”

Meanwhile, in preparation for next week’s negotiations in Vienna, technical experts from the P5+1 and Iran met in New York. A European Union spokesman said that the “useful” meeting was “aimed at further deepening of the knowledge on the issues” in advance of the Vienna talks.