Reuters / March 5, 2023
JERUSALEM – Israel rebuffed as “unworthy” on Sunday comments by the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief that any Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be illegal.
Having visited Tehran in a bid to loosen deadlocked talks on renewing its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, International Atomic Energy Agency chairman Raphael Grossi on Saturday said “any military attack on nuclear facilities is outlawed”.
He was responding to a reporter’s question about threats by Israel and the United States to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities if they deem diplomacy meant to deny it the bomb to be at a dead end. Tehran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.
“Rafael Grossi is a worthy person who made an unworthy remark,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet in televised remarks on Sunday.
“Outside what law? Is it permissible for Iran, which openly calls for our destruction, to organise the tools of slaughter for our destruction? Are we forbidden from defending ourselves? We are obviously permitted to do this.”
The IAEA said on Saturday Grossi had received sweeping assurances from Iran that it will assist a long-stalled investigation into uranium particles found at undeclared sites and re-install removed monitoring equipment.
writing by Dan Williams; editing by Christina Fincher
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Israel tells top US General it sees need to cooperate against Iran
Middle East Monitor / March 3, 2023
Israel hosted the top US military officer, Army-General Mark Milley, on Friday for discussions that it said included the need for cooperation on denying Iran nuclear weaponry, Reuters reports.
Milley made the previously unannounced visit, ahead of a trip to Israel by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, that will also include neighbouring Egypt and Jordan – US-aligned Arab states that have influence on Israeli-Palestinian affairs.
“Ongoing cooperation is required in order to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon,” Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant’s office quoted him as telling Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Milley made no public remarks in Israel. His spokesperson said Milley discussed regional security issues and “coordination to defend against threats posed by Iran” in his talks with Chief of the Israeli General Staff, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi.
Amid its long-stalled negotiations with world powers on renewing a 2015 nuclear deal, Western powers say Iran has made advances with technologies that could potentially yield it a bomb. Tehran denies having any such plan.
In January, the United States and Israel held what one US official described as the allies’ most significant joint military exercise to date, involving thousands of forces, a dozen ships and 142 aircraft, including nuclear-capable bombers.
Milley’s trip also comes amid spiralling violence in the West Bank, with stepped-up Israeli military raids following a spate of Palestinian attacks. Fears of escalation ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover festival have prompted the United States, Jordan and Egypt to appeal for calm.
At least 62 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, have been killed since the start of 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Thirteen Israelis and a Ukrainian tourist died in Palestinian attacks in the same period, according to official Israeli figures.
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Israel tells top U.S. general it sees need to cooperate against Iran
Reuters / March 3, 2023
TEL AVIV – Israel hosted the top U.S. military officer, Army General Mark Milley, on Friday for discussions that it said included the need for cooperation on denying Iran nuclear weaponry.
Milley made the previously unannounced visit ahead of a trip to Israel by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that will also include neighbouring Egypt and Jordan – U.S.-aligned Arab states that have influence on Israeli-Palestinian affairs.
“Ongoing cooperation is required in order to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s office quoted him as telling Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Milley made no public remarks in Israel. His spokesperson said Milley discussed regional security issues and “coordination to defend against threats posed by Iran” in his talks with Chief of the Israeli General Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi.
Amid its long-stalled negotiations with world powers on renewing a 2015 nuclear deal, Western powers say Iran has made advances with technologies that could potentially yield it a bomb. Tehran denies having any such plan.
In January, the United States and Israel held what one U.S. official described as the allies’ most significant joint military exercise to date, involving thousands of forces, a dozen ships and 142 aircraft, including nuclear-capable bombers.
Milley’s trip also comes amid spiraling violence in the West Bank, with stepped-up Israeli military raids following a spate of Palestinian attacks. Fears of escalation ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover festival have prompted the United States, Jordan and Egypt to appeal for calm.
At least 62 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, have been killed since the start of 2023, the Palestinian health ministry said. Thirteen Israelis and a Ukrainian tourist died in Palestinian attacks in the same period, according to official Israeli figures.
Reporting by Phil Stewart and Dan Williams; editing by John Stonestreet and Andrew Heavens
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Israel cabinet approves $2.8 billion for potential strike on Iran nuclear program
Middle East Monitor / February 26, 2023
Israel’s cabinet has approved a multi-year draft general budget which, amongst other things, grants an increase by approximately $2.8 billion for a potential strike on Iran and its nuclear program.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant agreed on Wednesday night on a multi-year defence budget which will reportedly largely be used to prepare for a potential strike on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
According to media reports, Israel is planning to request the United States to sell to it its new GBU-72 bomb, which weighs 5,000 pounds (2,267.9 kilograms) and has the capability to strike underground sites or bunkers.
The planned purchase had initially been considered in 2021 when that year’s budget allocated $1.5 billion to the Israeli military for the purpose of attaining arms for a potential conflict with Iran. The military continued that aim this year, but requested an additional $3 billion, of which $2.8 was granted.
Netanyahu elaborated that the budget would also result in an alteration in the country’s mandatory military service, mainly through the provision of relevant financial reward for soldiers and officers. The shortening of the period of mandatory service will also apparently be carried out.
The resumption of the plan to purchase the GBU-72 bomb comes particularly at a time when Israel has been openly considering taking preventative military action against Iran’s nuclear program, with Netanyahu seeking to bomb sites and underground facilities in a repeat of Israel’s striking of Iraq’s and Syria’s nuclear facilities in 1981 and 2007.
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Netanyahu preparing for attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities
Middle East Monitor / February 23, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held top-level secret meetings on preparations for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, local media reported on Tuesday.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, Netanyahu met five times in recent weeks with his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and other military figures to examine Israel’s readiness for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear targets.
“The only thing that has ever stopped rogue nations from developing nuclear weapons is a credible military threat or a credible military action,” he said at a national security conference.
He added: “A necessary condition and often a sufficient condition is credible military action. The longer you wait, the harder that becomes. We have waited very long.”
Israel’s Channel 12 report said Netanyahu’s meetings resulted in a decision that Israel will act alone if others do not step in. This decision was shared with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
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Israel DM requests budget increase to finance ‘possible strike’ against Iran
Middle East Monitor / January 3, 2023
The Israeli Ministry of Defence yesterday requested a 17 per cent increase in its budget to bolster preparations for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear weapons, the Israeli Public Broadcaster Kan reported quoting unnamed security sources.
According to the sources, the ministry “has requested an unusual increase of ten billion shekels ($2.8 billion) for its budget for the current and next years as part of an effort to boost preparations for a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear program, and to counteract the erosion of existing funds due to inflation.”
However, Kan quoted prominent economic sources as saying that the request “is exaggerated to the extent that it is unrealistic.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had set three goals for his government, including preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
During 2022, several Israeli officials revealed that the army is preparing for the possibility of a military strike on Iran if Tehran reaches the threshold of acquiring nuclear weapons.
