Israeli PM calls for sanctions and says he will not allow 'ayatollahs with nuclear weapons' to threaten 'the Jewish people'

The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, on Sunday called the proposed nuclear agreement with Iran "an exceedingly bad deal", as he intensified his campaign to convince world powers to toughen terms ahead of fresh negotiations this week.

"To give the most dangerous regime of the 21st century the world's most dangerous weapons is a big, big mistake," he told CNN.

Netanyahu said the deal would leave Iran with 18,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium. "They are not giving up one centrifuge, not one," he said.

"We've been around for about 4,000 years, the Jewish people, and we are not about to let ayatollahs armed with nuclear weapons threaten that," he said. He said it was "no secret" that many Arab leaders held the same opinion.

Netanyahu called for an increase in sanctions, a move which would have the support of many Republicans in Congress. "I think you should increase that pressure because it's finally working," he said. "And if you give it up now when you have that pressure and Iran doesn't take apart one centrifuge when you have that pressure, what leverage will you have if you ease the pressure? It just doesn't make sense."

Talks in Geneva between Iran and the so-called P5+1 – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – are set to resume this week. On Saturday, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, talked up the chances of a deal being reached. "Our common impression is that there is a very good chance that must not be passed up," he said.

On Sunday, President François Hollande, in Israel to meet Netanyahu, offered reassurance about France's tough stance on the Geneva talks. "France will not give way on nuclear proliferation," Hollande said, at a welcoming ceremony at Tel Aviv airport. "So long as we are not certain that Iran has renounced nuclear arms, we will keep in place all our demands and sanctions."

Western diplomats have said one of the sticking points to ending 10 years of sanctions is Iran's argument that its right to enrich uranium should be recognised. The US argues that Iran does not have that right under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

On Sunday, in an interview with the ISNA news agency, Iran's chief negotiator and foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, suggested that recognition of that right need not be included in any deal. "Not only do we consider that Iran's right to enrich is unnegotiable, but we see no need for that to be recognised as 'a right', because this right is inalienable and all countries must respect that," he said.

After his meeting with President Hollande, Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to Moscow to see the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, this week and then return to Israel to meet the US secretary of state, John Kerry, on Friday. Speaking on CNN, Netanyahu said it was clear that sanctions were working and Iran's economy was "on the ropes".

"The options aren't really a bad deal – and this is a bad deal – or war, there's a third option: sanctions. Increase the sanctions," he said.

Senators including John McCain have been calling for increased sanctions on Iran. This week McCain called Kerry a "human wrecking ball" over Iran. "I have never been more worried about the parameters of this deal," he said.

Netanyahu said he would prefer a diplomatic solution. "We need a good solution and that's the main point. The problem with a partial deal is you reduce the sanctions and in this case Iran is practically giving away nothing. I think it's a bad deal," he said.