JERUSALEM, Israel – In two weeks, Israel’s military will hold a large-scale drill simulating a potential attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, Israeli media reported Tuesday.
The air exercises will take place over the Mediterranean Sea during the fourth week of Israel’s “Chariots of Fire” drill, which simulates a regional conflict involving many fronts, including the Iranian-backed terror group, Hezbollah, on Israel’s northern border.
In addition to practicing repeated strikes inside Iran, Israeli forces are expected to simulate a scenario when Iran and its proxies in the Middle East retaliate.
US airforce refueling planes are also expected to participate in the training exercises, Israel’s Channel 13 reported. The collaboration between the US and Israel in such a drill is unprecedented and is seen as sending a message to Iran.
The massive drill aims to develop a credible military option against Iran should negotiations in Vienna to restore the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal fail. The deal, which puts strict limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, collapsed in 2018 when the Trump administration pulled out of it. Trump left the deal because he said it was “poorly negotiated” and still “allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium,” a key component for a nuclear bomb.
The Biden administration argues that Trump’s decision to unilaterally abandon the agreement accelerated Iran’s nuclear development because Tehran was no longer obligated to honor any of the commitments it made in the accord.
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Talks to restore the Iranian nuclear deal have been paused for about 9 weeks, particularly over Tehran’s demand that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (ICRG) be removed from a US terror blacklist.
The Biden administration has refused Iran’s demands unless Tehran agrees to make concessions on issues beyond its nuclear program, including its regional activity.
The Biden administration, its European allies, and Israel have expressed concern that Iran is using the pause in negotiations to expand its nuclear program.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Iran is “just a few weeks away” from obtaining enough material to develop a nuclear bomb.
“Iran continues to accumulate irreversible knowledge and experience in the development, research, production, and operation of advanced centrifuges,” Gantz said during a policy conference in Herzliya.
“It stands just a few weeks away from accumulating fissile material that will be sufficient for a first bomb, holds 60 kg of enriched material at 60%, it produces metallic uranium at the enrichment level of 20%, and prevents the IAEA (the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency) from accessing its facilities. “
He also said Iran was working on producing and installing 1,000 advanced centrifuges at its nuclear facilities. Gantz added that Iran has built a new underground centrifuge facility near the Natanz nuclear site.
Gantz is scheduled to meet with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan On Wednesday to discuss Iran. Gantz will also meet with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, at the Pentagon on Thursday.
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