Iran – in broad daylight – has come closer to acquiring a nuclear arsenal than ever before.
The Islamic Republic has the resources and knowledge to build nuclear weapons, and even the knowledge of missile technology is essential to ensure their eventual delivery.
Tehran is now enriching uranium at a rapid pace and operating much faster centrifuges that allow it to reach its nuclear targets faster than ever before.
Under the decision that former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran is not only breaking its promises under the agreement and thwarting the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Organization (IOMA). IAEA) to monitor his steps, he has also started extracting the essential uranium in the race to the bomb.
Iran may have intended to use Trump’s short-sightedness (followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) to move forward with his nuclear weapons or simply take advantage of the situation to move without a move.
But one thing remains clear: Iran’s progress in some areas is impossible to reverse and the various underground facilities it has built in recent years make any arms choice very challenging.
Despite Trump’s unstable economic sanctions, Iran continues to improve its bargaining position against the United States and others while Washington reduces its demands in a seemingly insignificant effort. desperate to lure Tehran back to an agreement of some sort.
The tragedy that unfolds before our eyes is the Israeli government frozen in its path against a raspberry challenge, hampered by its approach from days gone by and paralyzed to the last. from creating a position that would influence the negotiations with Iran or its activities on the ground.
The major threats to arms choice made by Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi were thwarted by Iran’s side, forcing the U.S. to redouble its efforts to reach an agreement of sorts reach some, even one rickety.
Israel is living on borrowed time. The pressure to strike a new treaty with the Iranians is not growing but Jerusalem would be better off trying to influence negotiations with pragmatic but firm communication.
There is no need in Israel to continue efforts to bury communications of any kind with Tehran. It would be far better to require checks and balances to be put in place to counter any risks associated with such a move.
Israel must aim to strengthen the commitment of the United States to prevent a nuclear Iran, and would be better off with the participation of European friends. He cannot allow his inner political secrets to turn Iran’s threat into Israeli trouble.
Moreover, since the end of the military embargo on Iran last year, Israel must demand that the U.S. stop the movement of rockets and missiles in Iran to proxies in the Middle East and thwart the efforts of the Islamic Republic to strengthen its base in the region.
Ultimately, Israel cannot be lured by promises that Iran will behave better than before. In the meantime, Iran’s race must be halted in order to gain immediate nuclear capabilities by any means necessary.
Ariel (Eli) Levite is a senior nonprofit for the Carnegie Endowment Nuclear Policy Program and Cyber Policy Initiative and served as deputy director general for policy at the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission from 2002 to 2007