Updated

Britain's foreign secretary has said that Israel wants a "permanent standoff" with Iran and suggests it wouldn't have welcomed any kind of nuclear deal.

Responding to an opposition lawmaker who criticized the deal struck between Iran and the West aimed at keeping Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, Philip Hammond said in Parliament Wednesday that Israel "doesn't want any deal with Iran."

Hammond said: "I think the question you have to ask yourself is what kind of a deal would have been welcomed in Tel Aviv." He added: "Israel wants a permanent state of standoff and I don't believe that's in the interests of the region."

Hammond said he is traveling to Israel and will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday.