Israel security chief ‘meets’ EU over Iran

JERUSALEM

Israel’s National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror held talks with European officials ahead of the next round of talks over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, a newspaper reported yesterday.

 The report, in daily Haaretz, said Amidror’s trip was linked to Israeli concerns that the talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers could ultimately end with a deal that would allow Tehran to continue enriching uranium. The daily said Amidror arrived in Brussels on April 30 and held talks with Helga Schmid, the EU deputy secretary general for political affairs, who is responsible for preparatory talks with Iran ahead of the Baghdad meeting. Amidror was expected to travel today to Berlin where he was to meet top German officials, among them Hans-Dieter Lucas, Germany’s representative to the Iran talks, the paper said.

Two weeks ago, Amidror was in Moscow for similar talks and met Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Haaretz said. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he had little confidence the talks would succeed. “The P5+1 engagement with Iran, however, does not fill me with confidence. I may sound pessimistic but the state of Israel cannot afford to be duped,” he told journalists at a meeting of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem.