Kerry to visit Israel again amid possible deal between west, Iran

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Israel once again on Friday amid mounting tensions over a possible agreement between the West and Iran regarding the latter's nuclear plan. The visit was announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who outlined his planned meetings with some world leaders this week, at the beginning of his weekly cabinet meeting. Kerry had visited the Jewish country earlier this month, mostly dealing with the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. "John Kerry will arrive here on Friday. He's an old friend of mine and of the State of Israel. He's doing efforts to promote the peace process with the Palestinians, and we will talk about it, but we will also discuss the Iranian nuclear issue," Netanyahu said, according to a statement by the Prime Minister's Office. "I want to remind you that there could be differences between the bets of friends, certainly on matters pertinent to our future and destiny," he added. Netanyahu reiterated his stance that the emerging agreement between Iran and the P5+1 nations (United States, Britain, France, China, Russia plus Germany) is a bad one and that the West could " get more" if the pressure on Iran remains unchanged. Other than Kerry's visit, on Sunday Israeli officials will welcome French president Francois Hollande and members of his cabinet, who will be visiting the country. On Wednesday, Netanyahu will fly over to Russia and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, also on the Iranian nuclear issue. In the past few days, tensions between Israel and the United States escalated. Kuwait-based Al-Jarida newspaper reported that U. S. President Barack Obama refused to receive phone calls from Netanyahu more than once in the past week. On Friday, Netanyahu posted on his twitter account an appeal for refraining from signing an agreement with Iran that would mostly serve Tehran. "Don't rush to reach a bad deal with Iran," he wrote. "The current proposition allows Iran to enrich uranium and keep its plutonium facilities intact." Netanyahu added. On Thursday, Netanyahu dismissed a landmark report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to which Iran had significantly slowed down its efforts to develop nuclear capabilities. According to the report, the high-level enriched uranium stockpile in Iran has only risen by 5 percent since August, currently standing at 196 kg, a significant drop in production according to the UN nuclear watchdog. As the United States attempts to reach an agreement with Iran, Netanyahu campaigns against lifting the sanctions on Iran and " hurrying into a deal," arguing that Iran would pose an existential threat to Israel's well-being as well as to world peace.