Aa Iran and world powers appeared close to a deal on Monday to give Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that it was Israel's obligation to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, "now more than ever." Speaking at a Likud faction meeting, Netanyahu slammed the world powers for capitulating to Iran, accusing the P5+1 negotiators of chasing a deal at any price. "Even this weekend, when Iran continued to get more and more concessions at the negotiating table, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani led a march through the streets of Tehran in which the masses yelled, 'Death to America, Death to Israel,'" Netanyahu said. "If even after these unequivocal calls for annihilation, the negotiators continued to make concessions, then they are probably ready to make a deal at any price - and there is no plan or desire to avoid a bad deal," he stated. Netanyahu answered criticism from Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Opposition leader Isaac Herzog, who said that the prime minister had failed to uphold his campaign promise to prevent a deal with Iran. "We did not promise to avoid a deal or prevent a deal, certainly not the one that the world powers are prepared to sign off on at any price," Netanyahu said. "We did vow to prevent Iran from arming itself with a nuclear weapon - and indeed, without our efforts over the years, Iran would already have been capable of building an atomic bomb long ago." He added, "Our obligation is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and it is relevant today more than ever. I call on all who see Israel's security as dear to them to unite behind this obligation." Diplomats from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States wore grim expressions as they met Monday and US Secretary of State John Kerry sat in silence when asked if the deadline might be extended or if he could rule out an extension. "There shouldn't be any extension," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. "But we can continue the talks as long as necessary." One of his deputies also sounded a cautionary note. "I cannot promise whether the remaining issues can be resolved tonight or tomorrow night. Some issues still remain unresolved and, until they are solved, we cannot say an agreement has been reached," Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as saying in Vienna. Diplomats close to the talks said there were contingency plans for an announcement ceremony on Monday if the negotiators sealed an agreement, which would open the door to ending sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy, in exchange for at least a decade of curbs on its nuclear program. The Western powers in particular suspect Iran may have sought to use its civil nuclear programas a cover to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Iran says the program is solely for peaceful purposes. The six major powers have given themselves until Monday to reach a deal with Iran. If they fail to get one by midnight, they will need to extend the terms of an interim nuclear deal with Tehran that has already been extended three times in two weeks. Another option is to walk away, something both the Americans and Iranians have said they are willing to do. They could also suspend the talks for a few weeks or months, though Iran has said it opposes this.
