Netanyahu: 'This Deal Gives Iran A Path To A Nuclear Arsenal'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at his Jerusalem office on Tuesday.

Oren Ben Hakoon/AP

"I think this deal gives Iran a path to a nuclear arsenal, and I think it gives them hundreds of billions of dollars right away with which to pursue their aggression and terror against us and against the United States and the world."

Those were the stark terms that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used during an interview with NPR's Morning Edition to describe the deal that six world powers and Iran announced on Tuesday.

The deal, which has been a centerpiece of President Obama's foreign policy, curbs some parts of Iran's nuclear programs in exchange for a lifting of some economic sanctions.

During a speech to the nation Tuesday, Obama said the deal closed off all paths Iran had to a nuclear bomb.

Netanyahu disagreed with that assessment. He said the deal actually gives Iran two paths: It can cheat and circumvent the deal, or it can comply with the deal.

Netanyahu argued that the inspections regime set up by the deal is "completely porous" and could easily lead to cheating.

In any case, Netanyahu said, this deal allows Iran to enrich uranium at any level after a decade.

"So I think, if the idea is, well, at least we get them away from the bomb — no, you don't," Netanyahu said. "You, at most, might delay it, but I don't think you will because they could cheat. And if you delay it, they'll fan out with the capacity to make the nuclear fissile core necessary for atomic bomb."

Much more of Netanyahu's interview is in the audio embedded at the top of this post.