Israel premier expresses 'deep concern' on pending Iran deal

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that he has "deep concern" over a pending nuclear deal the West appears close to signing with Israel's arch-enemy Iran.

Netanyahu said that he conveyed those fears to visiting American lawmakers, warning that the looming deal appears to "corroborate all our concerns and then some."

Netanyahu has been a fierce critic of American-led efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran and publicly has clashed with the administration of US President Barack Obama over the issue.

Negotiators in the Swiss town of Lausanne are working on an initial agreement just three days before their self-imposed deadline.

"The Iran-Lausanne-Yemen axis is very dangerous for humanity and must be stopped," the Israeli premier said, referring to Iran's backing of Shiite rebels who have conquered most of Yemen.

The West fears Iran's nuclear program will allow it to build an atomic bomb. Iran says its nuclear research is for peaceful purposes.

Netanyahu depicted Israel and Middle Eastern countries as unified in their view of Iran's involvement in the Yemen unrest as "a strategic move to dominate the region." He criticized continued negotiations with Iran at a time when "Iran is rampaging through Yemen," saying that "talks continue as usual and go on, on a deal that from everything that we hear paves Iran's way to the bomb."

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Iran was responsible for the fall of the pro-Western government in Yemen, and "instead of punishing it for that, Iran is getting a prize" with the negotiations.

"The West is allowing Iran through the front door of the family of nations," Yaalon said.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, heading a delegation of US senators visiting Israel, said the delegation supported legislation to require Congress to approve any agreement on Iran's nuclear program, or to increase sanctions on Iran if no agreement is reached.