Benjamin Netanyahu

Jerusalem : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called the Iranian nuclear deal “horrible”, saying that the deal allows the continuation of uranium enrichment and “Iranian enrichment”.

Netanyahu has been a sharp critic of the deal since the days it was being negotiated by Iran and six powers as Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany, Xinhua reported.

When the deal was signed in 2015 during the administration of former US President Barack Obama, the Israeli leader faced opposition to his stance at the White House.

Since Trump took office last year, Netanyahu has earned an ally in Washington. But Trump and Netanyahu find themselves largely alone in an international arena that is largely favorable of the nuclear agreement.

Israeli officials have said the nuclear deal does not prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

They have been critical of what they call “a weak inspection regime” in place and the fact that the deal does not address Iran’s ballistic missile abilities which it has continued to develop.

Last week, the Israeli Prime Minister revealed tens of thousands of documents seized by covert intelligence operatives in Tehran, and the documents are called by Israel as the “Iranian nuclear archive,” which could be viewed as an attempt to sway international opinion.

The latest documents date back to 2005, ten years before the agreement was signed, which raised questions as to its current relevance.

Netanyahu said that Israel was “determined to block Iran’s aggression against us even if this means a struggle. Better now than later”.

The comment came after weeks of rising tensions between the two countries.

—IANS