Iran nuclear deal breaks gridlock
(CNN) -- While the EU and the United States cheered a deal that world powers reached with Tehran over its nuclear ambitions, Israel was fierce in its criticism Sunday.
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"What was concluded in Geneva last night is not a historic agreement, it's a historic mistake," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters. "It's not made the world a safer place. Like the agreement with North Korea in 2005, this agreement has made the world a much more dangerous place."
"For years the international community has demanded that Iran cease all uranium enrichment. Now, for the first time, the international community has formally consented that Iran continue its enrichment of uranium."
Washington said the changes called for in the agreement will make Iran less of a threat to Israel.
"We believe very strongly that because the Iranian nuclear program is actually set backwards and is actually locked into place in critical places, that that is better for Israel than if you were just continuing to go down the road and they rush towards a nuclear weapon," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told CNN's "State of the Union."
Netanyahu disagreed.
The deal, Netanyahu argued, leaves Iran "taking only cosmetic steps which it could reverse easily within a few weeks, and in return, sanctions that took years to put in place are going to be eased."
"This first step could very well be the last step," he said.
"Without continued pressure, what incentive does the Iranian regime have to take serious steps that actually dismantle its nuclear weapons capability?"
Kerry argued the sanctions part of the agreement is hardly a boost for Iran.
"There is very little relief. We are convinced over the next few months, we will really be able to put to the test what Iran's intentions are," Kerry told CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley.
The deal says that the U.S. will provide $6 billion to $7 billion in sanction relief -- just a drop in the bucket compared to the roughly $100 billion in foreign exchange holdings that are inaccessible to Iran because of sanctions, the White House says.
Iran insists its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes, with no long-term goal of developing a nuclear weapons arsenal.
In an earlier written statement, Netanyahu said the agreement "threatens many countries and of course Israel among them. Israel is not obliged to the agreement."
"If in five years, a nuclear suitcase explodes in New York or Madrid," Naftali Bennett, the Israeli minister of trade and industry, said, "it will be because of the agreement that was signed this morning."
Shimon Peres, Israel's president, sounded a different note.
"This is an interim deal. The success or failure of the deal will be judged by results, not by words," Peres said in a statement.
"I would like to say to the Iranian people: You are not our enemies, and we are not yours. There is a possibility to solve this issue diplomatically. It is in your hands. Reject terrorism. Stop the nuclear program. Stop the development of long-range missiles. Israel, like others in the international community, prefers a diplomatic solution.
"But I want to remind everyone of what President Obama said, and what I have personally heard from other leaders. The international community will not tolerate a nuclear Iran. And if the diplomatic path fails, the nuclear option will be prevented by other means. The alternative is far worse."
To be sure, there is no love lost between Iran and Israel.
Iran, which in the past has questioned Israel's right to even exist, continues to push Tel Aviv's buttons with incendiary statements.
Israel, which says it has the most to lose if Iran develops a nuclear bomb, has repeatedly warned the West to tread warily when dealing with Tehran.