Benjamin Netanyahu bomb cartoon
Benjamin Netanyahu used a bomb graphic to illustrate Iran's nuclear potential to the UN Reuters

Israeli officials have reacted with fury at the announcement of a historic nuclear deal between Iran and six major world powers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the breakthrough in negotiations, which will curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling international sanctions, "a bad mistake of historic proportions".

"Iran is going to receive a sure path to nuclear weapons. Many of the restrictions that were supposed to prevent it from getting there will be lifted," Netanyahu said on Tueesday (14 July). "Iran will get a jackpot, a cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of dollars, which will enable it to continue to pursue its aggression and terror in the region and in the world."

According to Reuters, the deal will allow UN inspectors to press for visits to Iran's military sites as part of their monitoring duties. However, access at the sites will not necessarily be granted.

Iran has accepted a so-called "snapback" plan that will restore sanctions in 65 days if it violates the deal. The UN arms embargo would remain in place for five years and UN missile sanctions would stay in place for eight years.

Israel's deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely said the agreement "is a historic agreement of surrender by the West to the axis of evil led by Iran".

"The implications of the agreement in the foreseeable future are very severe, Iran will continue disseminating its metastasizing terror cells in all directions, will continue to inflame the Middle East and worst of all – will take a huge step toward becoming a nuclear threshold state. Israel will use all diplomatic means in order to prevent the confirmation of the agreement," Hotovely said

Former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman compared the deal to the agreement with North Korea and the infamous 1938 Munich agreement, saying it is a "complete capitulation to terrorism".

"A black flag waves over this agreement and it will be remembered as a black day for the free world," he said.

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