Sec. John Kerry: ‘No Daylight’ Between Israel and United States
Published at
Murat Unlu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images(GENEVA) — Following a historic deal with Iran, Secretary of State John Kerry sought to allay concerns expressed by Israel over the agreement, telling ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on This Week that there was no daylight between the United States and its closest Middle East ally when it came to Iran’s controversial nuclear program.
“Israel and the United States absolutely share the same goal here,” Kerry said. “There is no daylight between us with respect to what we want to achieve, at this point. We both want to make it certain Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And Iran cannot be in a place where they can break out and suddenly get that nuclear weapon.
“The deal is the beginning and first step,” he said. “It leads us into the negotiation – so that we guarantee that while we are negotiating for the dismantling, while we are negotiating for the tougher positions, they will not grow their program and their capacity to threaten Israel. Israel will actually gain a larger breathing space in terms of the breakout capacity of Iran. It’s just clear.”
Following the deal reached between Iran and six countries in Geneva – including the United States – that gives Iran relief from some sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear activity, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who views the Iranian regime as posing an existential threat to the Jewish state, called the deal a “historic mistake.”
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio