Ya'alon slams Iran nuclear deal as Western 'surrender'

'Iranian regime is receiving legitimacy for continuing the military nuclear project, and its global terrorist activities,' defense minister said.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The agreement signed between the P5+1 countries and Iran is a "historic mistake" and a "surrender to the Iranian charm and smiles offensive, and to Iranian fraud, which is aimed at gaining time, without the Iranian nuclear program being substantially harmed," Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Sunday.
Speaking from Canada, where he is attending a conference of defense ministers, Ya'alon said the agreement "allows Iran to enter the family nations despite being the most active and flourishing activator of terrorism in the world, which sends its deadly and uncurbed deadly arms across the globe, first and foremost against Western states, as regime representative sit at the able in Geneva."
The Iranian nuclear program threatens not only Israel and other Middle East countries, but also world peace, Ya'alon warned. "To leave in the regime's hands capabilities for continuing the nuclear program means that the world today is a less safe place. Instead of rolling the program back, the regime in Tehran has gained time, which will allow it on the one hand to seek a nuclear bomb, and on the other, breathing space due to the lightening of sanctions," the defense minister continued.
Hours ago, before the deal was signed, the regime in Tehran was facing heavy economic pressure that threatened its existence, and which could have forced it to choose between survival and continuing the program, Ya'alon stated.
"But now, due to short-term considerations and a lack of determination by the West, the Iranian regime is receiving legitimacy for continuing the military nuclear project, and its global terrorist activities, while its international isolation is lifted and its economy is strengthened," he added.