Israel’s military practiced long-range missions and mid-air refueling over the past weekend even as Iran made clear that it will continue with the development of its nuclear program, which Israel is convinced is a cover for making nuclear weapons.
In fact, Israel believes Iran is pursuing negotiations with the U.S. to buy time to finalize its ability to enrich existing low-enriched uranium stockpiles to high-enriched uranium needed to make some seven or eight nuclear weapons.
But there’s now word that time may be short.
“The coming weeks probably represent the last opportunity for Iran and the international community to reach an enforceable deal that will dismantle Tehran’s nuclear weapons program, before Israel concludes that time has run, that Iran has gotten too close to creating its first atomic bombs, and that the time for a military strike has arrived,” according to regional expert Yaakov Lappin, whose articles appear in The Jerusalem Post.
Iran has failed to comply with the terms of the IAEA requirement that its nuclear facilities be supervised to make sure that Iran is not creating a nuclear weapons. Iran is a major oil producer, which casts doubt on its claims to need nuclear power. In addition, the centrifuges Iran has are much more sophisticated than what would be needed for peaceful uses. Nuclear experts warn that a more likely scenario is that Iran will develop a legal nuclear power program, then drop out of the NPT and rapidly switch to an illegal nuclear weapons program. According to the NPT, Iran may build any nuclear facility, including uranium enrichment plants to create nuclear fuel, as long as the facility is devoted to peaceful uses and subject to IAEA safeguards and inspections. . What matters is if the West can force Iran to give up their nuclear ambitions with concrete action and not simply talk. I am highly doubtful though since Iran saw how North Korea fooled the world about its nuclear ambitions (and got away with it). And Iran’s just repeating what works.