RIYADH, Nov 25: Saudi Arabia has cautiously welcomed the Geneva nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers, saying “good intentions” could lead to a comprehensive agreement on Tehran’s controversial atomic programme.
“This agreement could be a first step towards a comprehensive solution for Iran’s nuclear programme, if there are good intentions,” the Saudi government said in a statement on Monday.
In London, the British foreign secretary called upon Israel to avoid taking any action that would undermine the agreement.
Urging world leaders to give the interim deal a chance, William Hague said it was important to try to understand those who opposed the agreement. But he urged Israel and others to confine their criticism to rhetoric.
“We would discourage anybody in the world, including Israel, from taking any steps that would undermine this agreement and we will make that very clear to all concerned,” Hague said in a speech in parliament.
In Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had decided to send his national security adviser to Washington for talks on Iran after warning the deal will convince Tehran it has a free hand to achieve a breakout nuclear capability.
US President Barack Obama has frequently tried to reassure Netanyahu, calling him to discuss the issue. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also sought to placate Israel about the agreement with Iran, whose supreme leader last week described the Jewish state as a “rabid dog” that was “doomed to collapse”.
“We will work so that the security of all the countries in the region, including Israel, is better assured,” Laurent Fabius said in an interview with a news agency.
Asked about the risk of Israeli strikes on Iran, he responded that he thought such as move was unlikely “because no one would understand it” at this point in time.
Fabius further said EU foreign ministers were to meet next month to discuss lifting some sanctions as part of the deal, a move he said could take place “in December”.
But a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton sought to dampen expectations that a firm decision would be taken at the next foreign ministers’ gathering due on December 16.
“It could be in December, it could be in January, it depends on how long the process takes,” he said.
The landmark deal would curb parts of Iran’s nuclear programme in return for some relief from international sanctions.
One senior Western diplomat said on Monday the focus in the coming weeks would be “swift implementation”.
In Jerusalem, the EU ambassador-designate to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, echoed the French foreign minister’s comments, telling a crowd of diplomats and the country’s intelligence minister that the 28-member bloc had “Israel’s security at heart”.
The so-called P5+1 world powers that negotiated the accord with Iran — the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany — say it is a key first step that wards off the threat of military escalation in the Middle East.
Under the deal, which lasts for six months while a more long-lasting solution is negotiated, Tehran will limit uranium enrichment to low levels used only for civilian energy purposes.
It will also neutralise its existing stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 per cent, which is close to weapons-grade and therefore an area of top concern.—Agencies
