Military action is on horizon over Iran’s nuclear program, says top Israeli general

[Boats]

Military action is on horizon over Iran’s nuclear program, says top Israeli general
By: Alarabiya Bews & Reuters, Jerusalem (Middle East) - 05-23-23
Re: https://english.alarabiya.net/News/m...sraeli-general

[Part 1 of II) The top Israeli general raised the prospect of “action” against Iran on Tuesday even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser played down any immediate threat posed by a new underground nuclear facility being dug by Tehran.

World powers’ efforts to negotiate new curbs to Iranian uranium enrichment and other projects with bomb-making potential have been fruitless so far, fanning long-bruited threats by Israel to resort to force if it deems diplomacy a dead end.

“Iran has advanced with uranium enrichment further than ever before ... There are negative developments on the horizon that could bring about (military) action,” Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, chief of Israel’s armed forces, said in a speech.

He did not detail what those developments might be, nor what action might be taken and by whom.

“We have capabilities, and others also have capabilities,” Halevi told the Herzliya Conference, an international security forum, in an apparent allusion to Israel’s US ally.

Experts are divided over whether the Israeli military has the clout to deal lasting damage to Iranian nuclear facilities that are distant, dispersed and defended. Iran denies seeking the bomb and has vowed devastating reprisals for any attack.

There has been speculation Israel might use countries on Iran’s borders as springboards for strikes. One such country, Azerbaijan, dismissed that idea despite its strong Israel ties.

“We refrain from interfering in the disputes or problems (of other countries), including by allowing or giving our territory for some operations or adventures,” Deputy Azeri Foreign Minister Fariz Rzayev said at the conference.

The Associated Press on Monday reported Iran was building a new underground site in the Zagros Mountains to replace an exposed uranium centrifuge manufacturing center at nearby Natanz that was struck by an explosion and fire in July 2020.

“This of course limits the capacity to carry out an attack, relative to above-ground facilities, which is of course easier. But what can be said about this matter is that there is nowhere that cannot be reached,” Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told the conference.

Following the 2020 incident, Iran announced in 2021 that it was working to move some of its centrifuge manufacturing halls into the “heart of the mountain near Natanz,” an area where Iranian engineers have long carried out excavation work.

Hanegbi declined to threaten an explicit Israeli attack and even suggested the onus would be on the United States by noting that it has massive GBU-43/B bombs which are not in Israel’s arsenal.

In any event, Hanegbi added, “this (underground facility near Natanz) is years away from being completed.”

Though Washington prefers to pursue diplomacy with Iran, the allies see “eye to eye” and have no significant difference on potential “red lines” for last-resort military action, he said.
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Part II: [How do we know this - see below];

Topic: Iran has enough enriched uranium for five nuclear bombs: Israeli official
By: Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English - 05-03-23
Re: https://english.alarabiya.net/News/m...raeli-official

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that Iran has enriched enough uranium to build five nuclear bombs.

“So far, Iran has gained material enriched to 20 percent and 60 percent for five nuclear bombs,” Gallant told his Greek counterpart, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, during a visit to Athens, the Times of Israel reported.

“Make no mistake – Iran will not be satisfied by a single nuclear bomb,” Gallant said, according to the report.

Israel accuses Iran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons and has repeatedly warned that it would take military action if diplomatic efforts fail to curb Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran has denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons and insists that it has not attempted to enrich uranium beyond 60-percent purity. However, in February, the United Nations nuclear watchdog reported detecting particles of uranium enriched to 83.7 percent in Iran, just below the 90 percent required to produce a nuclear bomb.

Gallant warned that if Iran chooses to enrich uranium to 90 percent, it would be a “grave mistake” and “could ignite the region.”

This comes as efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have stalled since last year. The deal offered Iran relief from international sanctions in exchange for strict but temporary curbs on its nuclear program.

The agreement unraveled after the US withdrew from it under former President Donald Trump in 2018.

Syria:

Gallant also accused Iran of sending weapons to Syria for “terrorist” purposes on a weekly basis over the past six months.

“The Syrian regime should be aware that the IDF will respond forcefully to any attacks launched from its territory. We will not allow Iran to establish military power in Syria, or to build a highway for the delivery of advanced weapons to Lebanon,” he added.

Iran, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has played a significant role in the Syrian conflict since its outbreak in 2011.

Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian-backed forces in Syria since the conflict began.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi began a two-day visit to Syria during which the two countries inked a set of long-term cooperation agreements that aim to enhance economic ties between the allies.

Raisi, who is the first Iranian president to visit Syria since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2010, held talks with Assad on Wednesday and met with Palestinian officials in Damascus on Thursday.

During his meeting with the Palestinian officials, Raisi called for the unification of “resistance forces” against Israel, saying: “The unity and cohesion of the resistance forces, the region, and the Islamic world are necessary to expedite the defeat of the Zionist regime.”

Iran has long been a major supporter of some Palestinian factions, including Hamas, providing them with both financial aid and weapons.
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Personal note: If nukes begin to fly - it may be the Middle East before China and
Russia & maybe NK - but what about the Little Fat Man - he has been pretty quite of
late what side will he take?

Late link pop'ed just now: Iran leaders slam US presence in Middle East
Re: https://english.alarabiya.net/News/m...n-Middle-East-

[I have read it you may want to?
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Closing comment: Who do you think will pull the trigger first?
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