JERUSALEM, Israel – In Jerusalem, a panel of nuclear experts warned about the resumption of the Iranian nuclear deal. they say that despite the dangers, the US and other nations seem to be in a hurry to renew the deal.
These experts are part of the World Nuclear Forum, scientists who believe Iran is masquerading its nuclear program as a peaceful effort while maintaining a long-range plan to develop weapons.
“It’s not just a country that wants to become a nuclear power,” said Lt. Col. (Res.) Dr. Raphael Ofek. “It’s an extreme, religious country with an ideology of the Islamic revolt to establish hegemony over the region, and even global hegemony, and with the intention to eliminate Israel. It’s a good reason to oppose it.”
They point out the original 2015 agreement focused on enriching uranium but failed to address Iran’s long-range ballistic missiles or warhead research while flooding Iran with billions of dollars.
“Immediately after that money was released, you saw a proliferation of terror organizations,” said Prof. Aharon Fridman of Ariel University. “It’s Hezbollah, it’s Hamas, it’s the [Houthis] in Yemen… So, you start seeing that immediately. It’s clearly a cause and effect thing.”
These experts, including a Nobel Prize nominee, believe Iran may already have a nuclear weapon.
“How close do you think Iran is getting to a nuclear weapon? Very close. If not, they have it already,” said Col. (Res) Dr. Ori Nissim Levy. “All over the world, all the superpowers think about the uranium. But uranium is only one slice of the pizza.”
Fridman agrees.
“I find it hard to believe that such a high-tech country as Iran working on it [for] so many years doesn’t have at least one nuclear weapon, especially if they are so connected to North Korea,” he said. “So why does North Korea have a nuclear weapon and they don’t have it? I find it hard to believe they don’t have it already.”
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Ofek predicts Iran would likely negotiate to dilute its highly enriched uranium in pursuit of a new agreement. He believes that’s solely to manipulate public opinion and would have no impact.
“It’s not a problem for them, within a few months, to enrich to military-grade and produce enough bombs to make it a threat…which is exactly what the North Koreans did,” said Ofek. “Everybody ignored the threat.
Once they had the bombs armed and the missiles everybody said, it’s too late, you cannot attack them.”
While some may dismiss a nuclear Iran, these scientists agree that just one nuclear weapon used as an EMP —an electromagnetic pulse — could destroy a country’s power grid and way of life.
“It’s hospitals, electricity, water, food, supermarkets, hospitals. If you have a problem with an EMP, you have a real-life problem. Even in a great and big country like the United States,” said Col. (Res) Dr. Ori Nissim Levy
One member of the panel, Professor Avi Grover served as an intelligence officer to help with the 1981 Israeli strike that destroyed Saddam Hussein’s atomic reactor.
Col. (Res) Dr. Ori Nissim Levy said any agreement would need that kind of threat behind it. “You must have a ready-to-go, well-cooked military option. That’s a must for the agreement.”
These experts hope their views will help shape public global opinion to re-examine a nuclear deal they believe could have devastating consequences.
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