Ray Hanania
Former Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon urged President Biden Wednesday not to appease Iran and called for tougher changes to force Iran to adhere to a new nuclear arms agreement.
Danon, who is the chairman of World Likud, the political party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also urged the Palestinian leadership to engage in face-to-face peace talks, saying there is room for a Palestinian state.
Appearing on The Ray Hanania Show broadcasting on the US Arab Radio Network, Danon called Iran a threat and said it would be better if the Iran nuclear agreement negotiated in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), were scrapped.
“We know that Iran is a threat. A threat to Israel. To the Middle East. To the stability of the world. The second assumption I want to make, that the agreement that was signed in 2015 was a bad agreement, the JCPOA,” Danon said.
“Today it is not better, it is even worse. Now the question is what will the US do? I hope the new administration will not re-enter the JCPOA as it is, without any amendments. That would be bad. That would be a sign the administration is trying to appease the Iranians.”
In a wide-ranging radio interview, Danon said that if the JCPOA is not scrapped, then the agreement should be amended.
“The second option is they would try to improve the agreement. And if they would try to do that, we have a few ideas of what should be improved in the agreement,” Danon said.
“The inspections. The ballistic missile test. The sunset clause. The billions of dollars they give to proxies and promote terrorism. We would be able to walk with the US on that. But still it’s not clear whether Biden is willing to push for amendment or whether he is willing to go back to the agreement.”
Danon said that the sanctions on Iran are the only reason why Iran is negotiating. He said Biden and the European nations should not let their guard down with Iran, arguing that any easing of sanctions would embolden Iran’s plans to build a nuclear weapon.
“You cannot say that the sanctions didn’t help. The reason that they are negotiating today is because of the sanctions. I think we should continue with the sanctions against the regime,” Danon said.
“On the other end, they play for the long run. We look at cycles of four years. President Trump. President Biden. Prime Minister Netanyahu. They look for the long run and that is why they are so dangerous.”
Danon said Israel supports a Palestinian state, but he cautioned that any agreement or final borders must all be negotiated face-to-face between Israeli and Palestinian officials.
