Israeli DM rejects link between peace talks, Iranian nuclear program

JERUSALEM, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon on Tuesday sought to sever the link between current peace talks with the Palestinians and international efforts to curb Iran 's disputed nuclear program.

"There is a debate between us and our friends regarding the position of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One cannot associate what is happening in the Middle East with this conflict," Ya'alon told a security conference in Tel Aviv.

"It is a legend. Once we were told that this is tied to the Iranian threat... What's the connection between the Palestinian issue to the Iranian issue? This affinity is highlighted in the U. S. government, and we say that it is false," Ya'alon said.

The remarks somewhat contradicted a speech made recently by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he drew a link between the two issues, albeit from a different angle, telling a conference in Washington that a nuclear Iran would harm any future peace accord.

"Our efforts to reach Israeli-Palestinian peace will come to nothing if Iran have nuclear weapons," Netanyahu told the Saban Forum of the Brookings Institution in December.

Also, Ya'alon voiced pessimism that current diplomatic talks led by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will ultimately materialize into a much-anticipated peace deal, saying it was premature to deliberate the borders of a future Palestinian state until the Palestinians recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state and give up their demand "to enable every refugee" to return to Israel.