Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that any final deal with Iran must include Israel's right to exist. Photo: Israeli Prime Ministers Office.

Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu on Friday insisted that any final nuclear deal between Iran and world powers include the Islamic Republic’s recognition of the Jewish State’s right to exist.

“Israel demands that any final agreement with Iran will include a clear and unambiguous Iranian recognition of Israel’s right to exist,” the premier said.

In his remarks, which come a day after the US announced a framework agreement with Iran after intense negotiations, Netanayahu also said that his entire cabinet opposes the terms of the arrangement.

Echoing criticisms outlined yesterday in a phone call with President Obama shortly after the agreement was announced, the prime minister said, “This deal would pose a grave danger to the region and to the world and would threaten the very survival of the State of Israel.”

He continued, “The deal would not shut down a single nuclear facility in Iran, would not destroy a single centrifuge in Iran and will not stop R&D on Iran’s advanced centrifuges.

“On the contrary. The deal would legitimize Iran’s illegal nuclear program. It would leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure. A vast nuclear infrastructure remains in place.

“The deal would lift sanctions almost immediately and this at the very time that Iran is stepping up its aggression and terror in the region and beyond the region.

“In a few years, the deal would remove the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, enabling Iran to have a massive enrichment capacity that it could use to produce many nuclear bombs within a matter of months.

“The deal would greatly bolster Iran’s economy. It would give Iran thereby tremendous means to propel its aggression and terrorism throughout the Middle East.

“Such a deal does not block Iran’s path to the bomb. Such a deal paves Iran’s path to the bomb. And it might very well spark a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East and it would greatly increase the risks of terrible war.”

The Israeli leader also outlined what his government sees as an alternative to the current deal under discussion.

“Now, some say that the only alternative to this bad deal is war,” he said. “That’s not true. There is a third alternative – standing firm, increasing the pressure on Iran until a good deal is achieved.”

Netanyahu concluded, “Iran is a regime that openly calls for Israel’s destruction and openly and actively works towards that end.

“Just two days ago, in the midst of the negotiations in Lausanne, the commander of the Basij security forces in Iran said this: ‘The destruction of Israel is non-negotiable.’

“Well, I want to make clear to all. The survival of Israel is non-negotiable. Israel will not accept an agreement which allows a country that vows to annihilate us to develop nuclear weapons, period.”

On Thursday, President Obama hailed the agreement as “historic” and claimed that it would roll back elements of Iran’s program and block any pathway towards building a nuclear weapon.