Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support Friday for US President Barack Obama's efforts to negotiate a compromise with Iran over its nuclear programme. Reacting for the first time to the joint deal drafted by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Netanyahu said he viewed as "positive" the proposal by the US, Russia and France that Iran should ship most of its enriched uranium abroad for processing into fuel.
"I also wanted to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the president's ongoing efforts to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear military capability," Netanyahu told reporters while meeting Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, in Jerusalem.
"I think that the proposal that the president made in Geneva to have Iran withdraw its enriched uranium, or a good portion of it, outside Iran is a positive first step in that direction," he said.
Netanyahu added he supported and appreciated Obama's ongoing effort to "unite the international community to address the challenge of Iran's attempts to become a nuclear military power."
Iran has welcomed the US-French-Russian proposal as a "positive approach," but demanded "important technical and economic amendments" to it.
Until Netanyahu's statement, Israel had officially remained mum on the draft deal. Defence Minister Ehud Barak had been the only government member to have reacted publicly.
Barak sounded ambivalent about the proposal and warned of a "fly in the ointment," stating that the proposal - while setting Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon back by about one year - failed to end all enrichment on Iranian soil.
Israel's reaction is regarded as important because of widespread speculation that it might attack Iran's nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails.
Israel has repeatedly warned that while it has a clear preference for diplomatic international pressure, it will not remove the military option from the table to prevent Iran from becoming a regional nuclear power.
