Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the outline of a nuclear agreement between Iran and Western powers as even "worse" than he had feared.
"While [world powers] convene to sign this deal, Iran's proxies in Yemen are seizing large swaths of land with an aim to overtake Bab al-Mandab strait so that they can change the balance of power in shipping oil," Netanyahu said on Sunday, in reference to the takeover of parts of Yemen by the Shiite Houthi movement which is said to have the backing of Tehran.
Netanyahu added that he had voiced his concern over the deal during a Sunday meeting at his Jerusalem office with the Republican US Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell. He noted that over the weekend, he spoke on the phone with Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. "The Iran-Lausanne-Yemen axis is a danger to humanity and it must be stopped," Netanyahu said.
His statements came as US-Iran negotiations remained underway in the Swiss city of Lausanne between the P5+1 group, which comprises Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
With a deadline of Tuesday night closing in, US Secretary of State John Kerry and other foreign ministers of the P5+1 group are presently in Switzerland to conclude the talks with Iran.
Officials described the talks as making significant progress but said a couple of core differences still remained, including the pace of sanctions relief to be grated to Iran, and what nuclear-related activities Iran would be able to scale up in the final years of what looks likely to be a 15-year agreement. That includes whether Tehran will be permitted to carry out more expansive research to develop more sophisticated nuclear infrastructure.
