Israel PM heads to Berlin for fresh pitch against Iran deal

Tel Aviv (AFP), 11 Sept, 2022-Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid took off for Germany on Sunday, in his latest diplomatic effort to persuade Western powers to ditch a nuclear deal with Iran.

Israel has long opposed a revival of the 2015 accord, which has been moribund since then US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions on Tehran.

Momentum that built towards a restored agreement last month appears to have slowed, after the three European nations that are party to the agreement -- Germany, France and Britain -- on Saturday raised “serious doubts” about Iran’s sincerity in restoring the deal.

Meeting his cabinet before flying to Berlin, Lapid thanked these three powers for the “strong position” they had voiced in a tripartite statement on Saturday.

These powers charged that Tehran “has chosen not to seize this critical diplomatic opportunity”, adding that “instead, Iran continues to escalate its nuclear programme way beyond any plausible civilian justification”.