|
Trending Topics
|
Israel, U.S. Signal Unprecedented Cooperation in Military Preparations Against Iran
(JNS) Yaakov Lappin - Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, an ex-Military Intelligence Research Division head for the IDF, said the scenario of a joint operation against Iran's nuclear sites "is certainly reasonable. What has recently occurred is a convergence of U.S. and Israeli approaches," said Kuperwasser, currently the director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. "While the United States understands the difficulties in renewing the nuclear agreement [with Iran], the Israelis abandoned the idea of enforcing a red line on Iran's nuclear program that was based on enriching 250 kilograms of 20%-enriched uranium, which Netanyahu had formerly marked out during a United Nations speech in 2012." They appeared to have settled on the idea of needing to act "one minute before Iran starts enriching uranium to the military-grade, 90% [U-235]." The unprecedented joint Israeli-American Juniper Oak military exercise in January "was designed to send a message to Iran: You are the target. The entire concept is about discouraging them from reaching 90% enrichment. The Iranians need to take it seriously." Today, Iran has enriched sufficient levels of uranium to the 20% and 60% levels to produce five nuclear warheads, if enriched further. "It is unclear how long it would take them to reach launchable bombs. The consensus is two years, but I believe it is less because I think that the Iranians are conducting simulations [of nuclear breakthrough]," said Kuperwasser. "We also know that in the past, they conducted secret activity."