Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the US held indirect talks with Iran on a “mini-agreement” that Israel can live with, Israeli media outlets reported on Tuesday.

“This isn’t the [2015) nuclear deal we’re familiar with,” Netanyahu was reported as saying during a closed meeting of the top-level committee this week.

Walla News reported Netanyahu as saying that the “understanding” between the two countries includes a commitment from Iran not to enrich uranium over 60% purity in exchange for the US releasing billions of dollars of frozen Iranian funds. In addition, Iran and US will carry out a prisoner swap deal.

According to a Kan News report, Israel believes that the Biden administration is determined to forge an agreement with Iran and there is little chance that Israel can do anything about it.

The Biden administration initially denied it was holding talks with Iran but Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday confirmed that talks were held and thanked Oman for mediating the talks. Hours later, a Biden administration official confirmed that the US was holding talks with Iran but denied that an interim agreement was under discussion.

“There are no talks about an interim deal,” the official said. “We have made clear to them what escalatory steps they needed to avoid to prevent a crisis and what deescalatory steps they could take to create a more positive context.”

Jason Brodsky, the policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), commented on the reports: “If true, this ‘mini deal’ is fantastic for the Iranian supreme leader on the nuclear side. He literally gives up nothing and gets paid. This risks the Iranian establishment perceiving the once unacceptable 60% enrichment now being acceptable. This is how red lines turn pink.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)