Israel’s outgoing consul general to the Southeast is echoing his prime minister in condemning a tentative deal reached July 14 that would lift economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on the country’s nuclear program.
“The agreement does not prohibit Iran from continuing activities that undermine the region’s stability and threaten the world. It is clear that this deal with Iran will pose grave dangers to Israel, America and, ultimately, the world,” said Opher Aviran, the consul general, who is set to leave Atlanta in August, in a statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “bad deal” and a “historic mistake” that wouldn’t halt Iran’s aggressive behavior. “The world is a much more dangerous place today than it was yesterday,” he said Wednesday, noting that he will lobby Congress to reject the deal during its 60-day deliberation before the final vote.
Georgia’s Republican senators showed skepticism, vowing to go through the agreement with a fine-toothed comb to ensure it serves U.S. interests and Iran holds up its end of the bargain.
The deal allows for new inspections of nuclear and military facilities and aims to prevent Iran from producing enough material to make an atomic bomb for at least 10 years, according to the Associated Press.
Georgia representatives were split on the issue, largely along party lines, with some viewing the deal as a welcome move to avoid conflict in the war-torn Middle East and others seeing it as a naive concession to an adversary that can’t be trusted.
Read more on Georgia lawmakers’ responses here.
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