World Jewish Congress president Ronald S. Lauder has reacted to the preliminary agreement reached by the negotiators of the P5+1 group in Lausanne.
He said the key question was if Iran could be trusted to implement the deal. Lauder said that while he appreciated the sustained efforts of the negotiating parties to achieve a deal that would curb Iranian nuclear ambitions, there were doubts that Iran would act in good faith. “I fear a scenario in which, in 10 years, we will have resuscitated the Iranian economy without curbing Iran’s nuclear arms development,” he declared.
Lauder also questioned whether Iran can truly be stopped from pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program. While he acknowledged that the P5+1 group, which includes Britain, China, Germany, France, Russia and the United States, had endeavored to reach a diplomatic outcome, “this agreement must also achieve a practical result: It has to ensure that all necessary safeguards are maintained against any deviations by the Islamic Republic.
“Iran must prove beyond doubt that it is willing to implement all aspects of the agreement prior to the lifting of any sanctions; any failure by Tehran to honor the details of the agreement in full, or any renewed attempts to pursue a covert nuclear weapons program, must immediately trigger new, stronger sanctions and render any agreement null and void.
“A nuclear-armed Iran would pose a grave threat to the wider world and trigger a dangerous arms race in the Middle East. We must not let that happen by putting too much faith in this regime,” Lauder added.