Mossad chief says Iran-US nuclear deal 'strategic disaster' for Israel

The head of Israel's national intelligence agency Mossad has called the potential resurgence of the Iran nuclear deal a "strategic disaster" and claimed Tel Aviv will not be obligated to soften its stance on Tehran if a new deal is reached.

David Barnea said the accord is "very bad for Israel" and the United States is rushing to complete a deal that is "ultimately based on lies," in reference to Iran insisting that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes, according to comments translated and published by Times of Israel.

Barnea said he fears that the deal "gives Iran license to amass the required nuclear material for a bomb”, but that it is inevitable because Washington is set on regulating Iranian nuclear activities and Tehran wants relief from US sanctions.

"The Mossad is preparing and knows how to remove that threat," he added. "If we don’t take action, Israel will be in danger."

The US and Iran appear to be close to a deal that would see Iran reopen itself to nuclear inspections and reduce its nuclear development in exchange for sanctions relief. Earlier this month, the European Union gave its final proposal to Iran and the US for the deal. 

The possibility of a deal, which might lead to the lifting of US sanctions on Iran's oil output of 2.5 million barrels per day, has already helped trigger a fall in prices on world markets, with US oil futures dropping nearly three percent to finish below $90 a barrel.

Iran struck the nuclear deal in 2015 with the US, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China.

In 2018, Trump ditched the deal and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran. In response, Tehran - which says its nuclear programme is for power generation and other peaceful purposes - breached the agreement in several ways including rebuilding stocks of enriched uranium.

Israel has long been a vocal opponent of the nuclear deal.