Israel’s Bennett urges hard line against Iran at nuclear talks | Al Jazeera

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged world powers to take a hard line against Iran in negotiations aimed at reviving an international nuclear deal.

Bennett made the comments on Sunday as his top defence and intelligence officials headed to Washington to discuss the flailing talks.

Israel has been watching with concern as world powers sit down with Iran in Vienna in hopes of restoring the tattered 2015 deal. Last week, Iran struck a hard line as talks resumed, suggesting everything discussed in previous rounds of diplomacy could be renegotiated.

Continued Iranian advances in its atomic programme have further raised the stakes.

“I call on every country negotiating with Iran in Vienna to take a strong line and make it clear to Iran that they cannot enrich uranium and negotiate at the same time,” Bennett told his cabinet on Sunday.

“Iran must begin to pay a price for its violations.”