Israel's political establishment arose in unison on Sunday to denounce as inadequate an interim agreement hammered out with Iran to rein in its nuclear programme.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, led the chorus of indignation, calling the deal struck in Geneva between Iran and the so-called P5 plus one – the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany – "a historic mistake".
"What was achieved last night in Geneva is not a historic agreement; it is a historic mistake," he told Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting "Today the world has become a much more dangerous place because the most dangerous regime in the world has taken a significant step toward attaining the most dangerous weapon in the world.
Condemning the six powers for "ignoring the UN Security Council decisions that they themselves led", he added: "This agreement and what it means endanger many countries including, of course, Israel. Israel is not bound by this agreement. The Iranian regime is committed to the destruction of Israel and Israel has the right and the obligation to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.
Mr Netanyahu's comments came after a procession of ministers and senior officials had earlier taken aim at a "bad deal" which they said effectively left Iran as a nuclear threshold state.
In the most graphic criticism, Naftali Bennett, the trade and industry minister and leader of the far-Right Jewish Home party, warned that it could be the precursor to a nuclear "suitcase bomb" attack on a major Western city. » | Robert Tait, Jerusalem | Sunday, November 24, 2013
