Israel PM heads to Berlin for fresh pitch against Iran deal
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid was headed to Germany in his latest diplomatic effort to persuade Western powers to ditch their tattered nuclear deal with the Jewish state's arch nemesis 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 -- raised "serious doubts" about Iran's sincerity in restoring the deal.
The European parties 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". Iran's foreign ministry criticised those comments as "unconstructive."
Lapid told his cabinet that "Israel is conducting a successful diplomatic campaign to stop the nuclear agreement and prevent the lifting of sanctions on Iran.
The 2015 agreement, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, gave Iran sanctions relief in return for restricting its nuclear programme.
Last month, the European Union, which acts as the mediator of the nuclear talks, put forward a "final" draft of the agreement.
Iran and the US then took turns to respond to the text, with Washington saying that Tehran's reply was a step "backwards".
