(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Amb. Dore Gold - There are three elements involved in having an operational nuclear weapons program. First, Iran needs a delivery system to carry its nuclear weapons to a target. Iran has the Shahab-3 missile with a range of 1,300 km. - the distance required to strike Israel from bases located on Iranian territory. Iran has created a system of underground missile bases, where it could launch its missiles from silos. Second is the weaponization of uranium into an actual explosive device. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported in May 2011 on Iranian military research that included "the removal of the high conventional explosive payload from the warhead of the Shahab-3 missile and replacing it with a spherical nuclear payload." Third, to build a nuclear warhead, the uranium has to be in the form of metal. In August 2021, the IAEA verified that Iran was producing uranium metal. Israel must build an international coalition against Iran's determination to deploy nuclear forces and threaten the security of Israel, the Middle East, and the entire world. It must motivate potential members of that coalition to understand the urgency of the situation and why the time to act together has arrived. The writer, former Director-General of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Israeli Ambassador to the UN, is President of the Jerusalem Center.
2021-09-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive