Israel's spy chief says no deal gives Iran 'immunity' from its operation

By Abdelraouf Arna'out

JERUSALEM (AA) – The chief of Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad said any deal with Iran over its nuclear program will not "provide immunity" from Israeli operations.

"The deal is based on Iranian lies, Iran has sought to build a nuclear weapon that endangers Israel's existence," David Barnea said in his first public speech since he became spy chief in June 2021 at a conference in the Reichman University in the central city of Herzliya.

"We will not close our eyes to the proven truth, the [Iranian] regime will have no immunity," he said, adding that "the nuclear talks are not a restraining factor in any way."

Barnea said Israel foiled “dozens of Iranian terror attacks against Israelis and Jews abroad" before being carried out.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid termed his country's campaign against the Iran nuclear deal as "successful."

The Iran nuclear deal – officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – was signed in 2015 by Iran, the US, China, Russia, France, the UK, Germany, and the EU.

Under the agreement, Tehran has committed itself to limiting its nuclear activity to civilian purposes and in return, world powers agreed to drop their economic sanctions against Iran.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to stop complying with the nuclear deal.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar