Putin discusses Iranian nuclear deal with Netanyahu in 30-minute phone call

JERUSALEM, July 30 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday and underscored that the deal on Iran's nuclear program would improve security in the Middle East.

The call largely dealt with regional issues and bilateral ties between the two countries. While Russia sells arms to some of Israel's biggest adversaries, like Syria and Iran, its security ties with Israel have vastly improved.

Putin said the nuclear deal "envisages reliable guarantees of the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program." He expressed confidence that the deal will "have a positive impact on security and stability in the Middle East," according to the Kremlin's statement, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.

Putin also stressed the "need for joint efforts by all parties concerned to combat the threats from the Islamic State terrorist group."

Netanyahu spoke to reporters at a briefing Thursday in which he passionately argued against the deal -- and contradicted Putin's assessment of it.

"The more you know about the accord, the more you oppose it," Netanyahu said. "Just because we identify existential threats does not mean we will give into them. Without our efforts, Iran would already have had a nuclear weapon. This agreement is terrible, it would have been preferable had there been no agreement, rather than this one."

In April, Netanyahu warned Putin that providing Iran with S-300 missiles "will only encourage Iranian aggression in the region and further undermine the stability of the Middle East."

On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 group -- China, Russia, France, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany -- reached an "historic" deal to suspend Iran's nuclear weapons program in exchange for the easing of sanctions.