'Repeal or Replace': Israeli PM Claims Iran Deal Allows Tehran to Develop Nukes

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in an interview with Fox News that the nuclear deal with Iran provides opportunities for Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The prime minister added the Iranian deal should be reviewed or revoked.

"There's no question that the deal with Iran, which paves the way to eventual Iranian acquisition of the critical elements of nuclear bombs and nuclear arsenal, something we don't accept and never signed on the deal and we won't let happen," Netanyahu said Friday.

"My position vis-a-vis the deal with Iran… repeal or replace," Netanyahu said, adding that Washington should not let Tehran "have the best of all world."

The relations between Israel and Iran have been strained since the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. The ties are overshadowed by a number of issues, including Tehran's nuclear and missile programs accompanied by controversial anti-Israeli statements of high-ranking Iranian officials, such as former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Netanyahu has repeatedly criticized the administration of former US President Barack Obama for signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program. The agreement was signed in July 2015 between Iran and six mediators, with the United States among them. The implementation of the plan by Iran led to lifting international economic sanctions against the country.

After the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, Washington-Tehran tensions also escalated amid Iran's ballistic missile test and the new US sanctions against Iran. Moreover, Trump has repeatedly criticized the Iran nuclear agreement, saying that it is a "bad deal" and "disastrous for Israel."

On Wednesday, Trump directed the National Security Council to review the Iranian nuclear deal.