Israel sees Iranian atomic bomb in five years, deal or no deal

Indirect negotiations to revive the 2015 accord are due to resume in Vienna next Monday

Iran is five years away from developing a nuclear weapon, and international talks due to restart next week will do nothing to slow it down, Israel said on Tuesday, adding it reserved the right to act to protect itself.

Indirect negotiations to revive the 2015 accord, under which Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of international sanctions, are due to resume in Vienna next Monday after a five-month pause.

Israel long opposed the nuclear deal, but Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government, in power since June, had previously said it could be open to a new deal with tougher restrictions. In remarks on Tuesday to a security forum, however, he sounded less accommodating.

Bennett described Iran, which denies it is pursuing nuclear arms, as being at "the most advanced stage" of a nuclear weapons programme. "In any event, even if there is a return to a deal, Israel is of course not a party to the deal and Israel is not obligated by the deal," he told the conference, hosted by Reichman University.