JERUSALEM (EJP)--- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his demands that Iran halt its uranium enrichment programme entirely, as International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) head Yukiya Amano embarked on nuclear inspection talks with senior officials in Tehran on Monday.

Skeptical of the likely success of such talks, Netanyahu reiterated that “(Iran) wants to annihilate Israel, and is developing nuclear weapons to realize this goal.

Amano emerged from meetings with senior Iranian negotiators claiming victory in agreeing deal to inspect Iranian nuclear facilities. Speaking on Tuesday, ahead of the next round of talks on uranium enrichment by P5+1 countries (the UK, US, Russia, France and China, plus Germany) with Iran on Wednseday in Baghdad, Amano described the deal as an “important development”.

“(A) decision was made to conclude and sign the agreement...I can say it will be signed quite soon”, he said.

Amano was widely thought to be optimistic of his chances of reaching an agreement in Iran, in what would otherwise have been a risky undertaking so close to the Baghdad talks. Iran has refused IAEA requests for better access for their investigators, for the last four years.

Israeli officials however cast doubt on the credibility of the agreement in light of Iran’s history of evasive negotiating.

“The Iranians are serial agreement violators”, claimed an unnamed official. “We know from past experiences how all these agreements between the IAEA and Iran end. Iran continued to establish uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz under the nose of the international community.”

Netanyahu meanwhile reiterated Israel’s expectations from Wednesday’s broader-based discussions:“They (P5+1) need to make clear and unequivocal demands that Iran stop all of its nuclear enrichment activity, remove all the material that has been enriched until now and dismantle the underground facility near Qom. Only then can we be sure Iran will not get an atomic bomb.”

During a meeting of the foreign affairs and Defense committee on Tuesday, Research Division at Military Intelligence Brigadier General Itai Baron claimed that “the pressure put on Iran from the outside has not brought about a change in its nuclear policies.”

He continued: “Iran is asking to enter into extended talks with the international community...but the Iranians are continuing with their nuclear programme in order to obtain enriched material”.