Netanyahu Told UK Israel Will Respond To Iran's 90% Uranium Enrichment

During a Congressional testimony on Thursday, warning about the dangers Iran poses Gen. Milley said, “The United States remains committed as a matter of policy that Iran will not have a fielded nuclear weapon.”

The term “fielded” has led to questions about what the Biden administration’s policy exactly is regarding Iran becoming a nuclear power. Previously, President Joe Biden and all top officials had repeatedly said that US policy is not to allow the Islamic Republic to acquire a nuclear weapon, threatening that all options are on the table.

Now, with the Pentagon chief saying that the US would not allow a “fielded” nuclear weapon, some ask if the administration would allow Iran to build a bomb but not “field” it, which in essence is a vague concept.

Being a nuclear threshold state is a familiar concept, meaning that a country has the fissile material and the knowhow to build a nuclear bomb but has not decided to do so, but once a bomb is produced, it is not clear what the difference is between a bomb in the basement and one “fielded.”

Former senior US diplomat and Middle East expert Dennis Ross tweeted that “Did General Milley misspeak or is US policy now to respond only if Iran deploys a nuclear weapon or in the General’s words has a “fielded nuclear weapon.” That implies that Iran can develop a bomb but we would respond only if they deployed it. If true, Iran will develop a bomb.”

Milley also said during his testimony that Iran can have enough fissile material for a bomb in two weeks and it would need just a few months to build a bomb. The timeline he mentioned about fissile material was in line with what Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said last month, but the estimate of just a few months needed to build a bomb was more alarming than previous US predictions.

Gabriel Noronha, a former Trump administration official tweeted, “It implies that Iran has started to conduct weaponization activities, something US intelligence officials have not publicly stated before this point - even as recently as a couple weeks ago.”

Milley also said, “We, the United States military, have developed multiple options for our national leadership to consider if or when Iran ever decides to develop an actual nuclear weapon.”

This last comment seems to be different from the earlier one and more in line with declared administration policy. As Ross said in his tweet, did Gen. Milley misspeak?

The administration will be most probably asked about this, but the Islamic Republic will surely take notice of the general's remark about a "fielded" nuclear weapon, even if later it is explained away.

So far, government media in Iran have not mentioned Milley’s statement, but it could simply be that the country is in the midst of Nowruz holidays.

The Biden administration has adopted a tougher tone toward the Iranian regime since September when nuclear negotiations reached a deadlock and antigovernment protests in Iran changed the agenda. In addition, the US and its allies are outraged by Iran’s delivery of killer drones to Russia.
Iran-linked forces conducted two attacks on US forces in Syria on Thursday and Friday, and some observers noted that such attacks in Iraq and Syria have noticeably increased since the Biden administration came to office and began nuclear talks with Iran.

The Israeli premier, scheduled to meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Friday, is slated to depart on Thursday evening.

According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, his meetings in London will focus on the need to formulate a “united international front” against Iran in order to stop its nuclear program.

The leaders will also discuss strengthening strategic ties between Israel and the United Kingdom, including increasing security and intelligence cooperation and the war in Ukraine as well as broad developments in the Middle East.

Earlier in the week, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen was in London to press Jerusalem’s position about the Islamic Republic’s threat and bolster bilateral economic ties.

The Israeli diplomat signed an agreement called the 2030 Roadmap for UK-Israeli Bilateral Relations, which according to the British Foreign Office “contains detailed commitments for deepening cooperation across the breadth of the Israel-UK relationship, including on trade, cyber, science and tech, research and development, security, health, etc.”

Netanyahu’s trip to London comes on the heels of his visit last week to Berlin, where he met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and other senior German officials. As he stood with Scholz at the Holocaust memorial Platform 17 in Berlin, Netanyahu appeared to compare Iran with the Nazis.

Seemingly alluding to the Islamic Republic rhetoric which calls for the end of the ‘Zionist regime’, he said: “The calls to destroy the Jewish people have not ended. The main lesson we have learned is that when we are faced with such evil, we must stop the evil plans early to prevent a disaster."

A senior Israeli official, who spoke to Iran International on condition of anonymity, said Netanyahu's recent visits to Europe aim to convey a strong message that Israel would act alone against Iran and would do whatever it deems necessary against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

“Recent trips to some European countries and meetings with the leaders of these countries are both a message for Europe and a direct message for the Iranian government," the source said, noting that Tehran has "received" this message.

Earlier in the month, Netanyahu met with Italian premier Giorgia Meloni when both called for bolstering bilateral ties. His meeting with Meloni came just after Iran and Saudi Arabia announced a resumption of diplomatic ties, a development that Netanyahu was widely criticized at home for failing to prevent.

On Wednesday, a senior Israeli diplomatic official told Axios that the Israeli government sees the recent agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran not as a threat, but as an opportunity for Israel’s efforts to normalize relations with the Saudi kingdom.

The official who is directly involved in the efforts said that the war in Yemen has been a major "irritant" in US-Saudi relations in recent years, hampering efforts for Israel-Saudi normalization steps. ”The more relations between the US and Saudi Arabia improve, the easier it will be to work on promoting normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel,” the official said.

On Wednesday, Israel warned the Biden administration and several European countries that Tehran would be entering dangerous territory that could trigger an Israeli military strike if it enriches uranium above the 60-percent level.

According to an International Atomic Energy Agency report from late February, Iran has amassed 87.5 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium. Experts say if uranium is enriched to 90% weapons grade, it would be a sufficient quantity to produce at least one nuclear bomb. 

Netanyahu has time and again threatened military action against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program as it enriches uranium closer to weapons-grade levels.

On March 9, Netanyahu told Iran International that Tehran is “dangerously moving forward” in its nuclear program, claiming that he returned to the government primarily to make sure that Iran cannot become a nuclear “threshold power”.

The PM’s whirlwind of foreign trips is seen by some as a distraction from the civil uprising happening at home as Israelis protest against proposed legal reforms which would make Netanyahu largely unaccountable. It would also give him a clear way out of criminal charges he faces, though he denies all counts.

The exact time and location of his departure is not yet known even to reporters who will be accompanying Netanyahu during the diplomatic visit to London because protesters have vowed to gather at the site and prevent him from boarding the plane.

Quoting “several well-informed sources” IRNA said Bagheri-Kani, who is also deputy foreign minister met with foreign ministry directors of the United Kingdom, France and Germany, three signatories of the 2015 nuclear accord known as the JCPOA.

An official from the German foreign ministry confirmed Wednesday afternoon that a meeting had taken place, but said the purpose was "to make our positions very clear in the face of the Iranian escalation in many areas. No, there are still no negotiations, not even on the JCPoA."

The three countries are known as the E3 and participated in long but unsuccessful negotiations with Iran in Vienna, together with Russia and China from April 2021 to March 2022. The European Union that has been coordinating the talks continued discussion with Iran in the following months hoping to bring about a deal to revive the JCPOA, abandoned by the United States in 2018.

These attempts reached a deadlock last September followed by US declarations that reviving the JCPOA is no longer on its agenda.

Europe has also adopted a sharply critical position toward the Islamic Republic on its gross violations of human rights by a deadly crackdown on protesters. Several rounds of sanctions by the EU and the UK have been announced against entities and officials involved in violence against civilians and mass arrests.

IRNA quoting a senior official said that Enrique Mora, deputy to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was also present at the meeting. But Amwaj.media, which also reported about the meeting, later quoted a diplomatic source as saying that Mora was not present.

IRNA also said that there is no information about the agenda of the meeting, but quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that the event was supposed to be a “brain storming” session. IRNA quoted another source who said the meeting was “secret”, which the agency said shows there are still obstacles to renewed negotiations.

The report went on to say, “Although such meetings rarely take place in Norway, but this was not the first time this Scandinavian country, which is not an EU member, hosted talks between Iran and Europe.” It added that a similar meeting also took place a few months ago.

IRNA's report is full of positive references to recent Iranian diplomatic efforts. It seems that Iranian government wants to reinforce positive news about its attempts aimed at ending its international isolation.

IRNA also claimed that the are “signs” about a possible release of US citizens held in Iran, a claim recently repeated by Iranian officials and dismissed by Washington.

IRNA’s report seems more as an attempt to reinforce optimist about Iran breaking out of isolation with mentioning a vague deal achieved with the International Atomic Energy Agency earlier this month when the agency’s chief Rafael Grossi paid a two-day visit to Tehran.

Iran’s economic situation has sharply deteriorated in recent weeks, amid continuing US sanctions, with the national currency falling to historic lows, signaling much higher inflation in the coming months. Tehran seems anxious to make some sort of improvement in its foreign relations and to open the door to more talks with Washington.

In an open letter published by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, 44 American generals and admirals wrote, “To confront this pressing high-priority threat, the United States should immediately provide Israel with the advanced weapons it needs to deter and prevent a nuclear Iran.”

The US, Israel’s biggest defense supplier, was urged by the group to “expedite delivery—through outright sale, temporary lease, or prepositioning in Israel—KC-46A aerial refueling tankers, F-15I’s, F-35s, and precision-guided munitions, such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)”.

However, Israel, Iran’s nemesis, currently has its lowest ever approval rating from the Democrats amidst ongoing conflict with the Palestinians which have seen clashes at their worst since the second intifada 20 years ago, and a right-wing government trying to overhaul the judicial system, impose strict religious policies as well as expanding settlement building, contravening international law. 

Iran says its nuclear technology is solely for civil purposes, but its policy of enriching uranium to over 80 percent has no civilian use and only a short step away from bomb-level purity of 90 percent. The nuclear threat is “one of the most pressing strategic challenges America faces today”, according to the group.

“Our military experience has taught us that demonstrating the willingness and capability to use force offers the best chance against having to do so. If a conflict does commence, it is best to possess already the weapons necessary to achieve success,” the group added.

"The prospect of cooperation in the field of 'new energy' and renewable energy sources, as well as in the field of other types of energy, including peaceful nuclear energy, certainly causes great interest and motivation for expanding economic relations with Russia," Khanduzi said in an interview with Russia’s RIA state news agency published on Tuesday.

Iran and Russia are cooperating to expand Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant. Russia started deliveries of nuclear fuel for Bushehr in late 2007, a step both Washington and Moscow said removed any need for Iran to have its own uranium enrichment program.

Khanuzi also said Iran counts on "huge volumes" of oil and gas swaps from Russia this year.

"This year will witness huge volumes of swap supplies. We are very pleased that Tehran and Moscow have started cooperation on the issue of swap supplies of oil and gas," Khanduzi was cited as saying.

There were no details on what volumes of oil and gas Iran is expecting.

In October, Russia said that a swap deal with Iran may initially include 5 million tons of oil and 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

There have been many reports about possible Russian investments in Iran’s fossil fuel sector, but so far no projects have been launched.

Iran has been delivering drones to Russia for its war on Ukraine and Western powers have expressed serious concerns over expanding military ties between Tehran and Moscow.