German Chancellor Angela Merkel Talks Iran Nukes During Farewell Visit to Israel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a farewell visit to Israel, called for Iran to return to negotiations to restart its nuclear agreement with world powers, while Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel would do everything in her power to stop Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon. Merkel held a round of meetings in Israel on Sunday. She is currently heading a caretaker government until a new government can be formed following last month’s elections. Merkel acknowledged that the nuclear agreement is “not ideal,” while Bennet pointed out that preventing Iran from getting the bomb is an “existential issue” for Israel. Merkel also told Bennett: “I continue to consider it a stroke of good fortune given to us by history that after the crimes against humanity of the Shoah, it has been possible to reset and to reestablish relations between Germany and Israel to the extent that we have done. Merkel met with Bennett and joined a meeting of the full Israeli Cabinet, and had lunch with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. She was scheduled to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, meet Israeli high-tech leaders and receive an honorary doctorate from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.