Israel is considering hitting Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities during the US presidential transition period, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The report cited an Israeli official familiar with the thinking inside the Israeli security cabinet who said the handover period might provide Israel with a window to attack Iran’s nuclear program.
Realistically, Israel would likely need US support if it wanted to do significant damage to Iranian nuclear facilities that are buried deep underground. A US official speaking to Bloomberg ruled out the idea of President Biden ordering an attack on Iranian nuclear sites in cooperation with Israel, but the US is vowing to defend Israel if Iran responds to recent Israeli airstrikes that hit Iranian territory.
The fact that Israeli officials are discussing the idea of hitting Iran’s nuclear sites signals that they are looking for another escalation with Iran before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated. During the last transition period in 2020, Israel carried out a covert attack inside Iran that killed Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a nuclear scientist.
The Israeli official speaking to Bloomberg said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered Iran’s nuclear program an “existential threat,” although there’s no evidence that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has decided to build a nuclear weapon, something that’s recently been affirmed by the CIA.
However, Israel’s aggression in the region has prompted calls inside Iran to reconsider the nuclear doctrine. Khamenei issued a fatwa in 2003 prohibiting the development of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
Iran is currently enriching some uranium at 60%, which is the highest level it has achieved but still lower than the 90% needed for weapons-grade uranium. Israeli aggression led to Iran increasing uranium enrichment to 60% as it took the step in response to a sabotage attack on its Natanz nuclear facility in April 2021. Before that, Iran took the step to increase uranium enrichment to 20% in response to the Israeli assassination of Fakhrizadeh.
The 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, limited Iran’s uranium enrichment to 3.67%. But Iran hasn’t been bound by the limitations for years since the Trump administration withdrew from the deal in 2018 at Israel’s urging.
Of course Israel wants to hit Iran's nuclear energy program – not because Iran might build a nuke – which even Israeli intelligence has long said is not likely – but to damage Iran's nuclear energy source which would negatively affect Iran's economy, leading possibly to regime change – which is the US neocon goal.
Unfortunately without using nukes, the best Israel can do against Iran's facilities is to damage any external electrical facilities on the surface around Iran's nuclear sites, which would be easily repaired.
It would of course increase Iran's retaliation even further which is exactly what the neocons and Netanyahu want – because that guarantees US involvement in the war and more importantly provides the US with the EXCUSE to be part of the war.
As I said, US involvement is already guaranteed and no doubt communicated to Netanyahu by the neocons, but they still need the excuse to sell it to the dumb US electorate and the rest of the world.
If Israel nukes Iran.Russia and China will nuke Israel. it would not take a lot of Nukes to make Israel vanish like some atolls in the Pacific.
Why would Russia and China do that? What would they gain? And why would Russia risks some of its cities in Israel counter strike?
Are IDF nuked as well maintained as the rest of IDF equipment ?
BWAH !!!!!
True – the IRI operates a domestic nuclear-power program for generation of medical isotopes (a secondary purpose) but also, primarily, to generate electricity so that more of their fossil-fuel reserves can be traded instead of consumed locally for electricity.
My home of British Columbia has TREMENDOUS hydroelectric potential, more'n enough at present to supply all our province's needs. But BC Hydro (the Crown corp generating this power) pushes HUGE energy-saving campaigns on citizens. Because the more electricity BC residents don't use (at kilowattage rates fixed by law), the more power BC Hydro can sell at market & premium rates to Washington, Oregon, and especially California.
It's all about profitability.
And the BC government destroys the environment to do it. Canadians are environmental desasteroids as bad or worse than US people sd near as I can tell.
There is controversy around Site C, to be sure. I asked a friend, a linesman with Hydro, if there’s Sites D thru Z potentially planned out. I was joking; he was serious when he said “yes”.
Part of the issue is that BC governments lean on Crown Corporations to backfill budget shortfalls. Any profit BC Hydro or the hated car insurance monopoly ICBC generates in a fiscal year, is skimmed by Victoria to patch up the budget.
This led to BC Hydro closing their in-house machine-shop and sub-c’ing maintenance to 3rd parties – but with no maintenance budget, workers literally place pans under leaky transformers and just pour fill pans of PCB-laiden oil back into the top. Between leaks, outdated tech, inefficient transmission & distribution, the environmental costs add up to more than the fiscal savings.
Very sad. Anglo north Americans and their associated finance specialists are at war with Earth and Life.
More of ugly Zionist paper tigering…!
I don't think so. Israel attacked Iraq's nuclear facilities. Israel will attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
It would be a suicidal mission for Israel…!
Nukes are passé… Directed energy weapons are in effect these days. No more nukes! No more war! Peace!!!
A directed energy weapons is toy compared to a nuclear bomb.
A pulse takes out communication, as would a strike against satellites. That would make Israel blind.
Israel does not have the ability to destroy all of Iran's nuclear facilities, nor even a serious amount. Regardless of what Gen Keen (or whatever his name is) says, very little of Israel's strike was not intercepted by ADs that are still being improved. If Israel tried it, Iran would be enriching to 90% and building nukes (if it isn't already as a result of the last strike).
But Iran has the ability to destroy every Israeli airbase, even with US THAADs 'protecting' them.
If Iran decided to build a nuclear arsenal, I would expect the IRI to first have its reigning Ayatollah rescind the standing fatwa against WMD's; and then, the State formally withdraws from the NPT and Additional Protocols. All of which to make nuclear development formal and legal, as the IRI seems to do things by-the-book.
Agreed. And I doubt Khamenei will do that unless he's convinced that Israel intends to threaten or use nukes on Iran. The only time Iran ever considered nukes was as "due diligence" when they thought Saddam Hussein had such a program. As soon as Saddam was out of the picture in 2003, Khamenei shut that program down.
Today the issue is Israel's nukes (it's doubtful the US would nuke Iran unless Iran used nukes on Israel first.) But now Iran is backed by Russia – which probably has already warned Israel against using nukes on Iran.
In fact, I suspect that incident that Pepe Escobar reported on some months back about an alleged intelligence report that the Russians shot down an Israel plane with a nuke on board probably didn't happen but the intel rumor was intended as a message to Israel. Pepe suggested as much at the time, but he wasn't sure what the message was.
During the Yom Kippur war, Israel uploaded a nuke, but did not use it.
Col. Wilkerson in a segment of Judging Freedom brought to light that detail.
Does not give me a good feeling as to what Israel is capable of doing if it is getting its *ss beat by Iran.
I believe rescinding the fatwa is being considered in light of the threats by Israel. Might has to be countered with might.
With Pompeo or Cotton, or both, in the Trump administration, who knows what will happen.
That “fatwa” is bunch of mumbo jumbo. Any D-Day move against Iran will be like the lamb opening the seventh seal.
I doubt a lamb could beat SIX seals (US Navy SEALs, or plain harbour seals) in a row, let alone make it past a 7th one, in a straight-up fight.
Not sure if this was a humor or the fact that you are unaware of Revelation 8:1.
I’ve read Revelation. And I’ve never done meth.
I think those two statements even out.
My gut feeling is that Iran has developed a couple that do not need testing, as was one of the nuclear bombs we dropped on Japan. I believe it is the one that fires the projectile that set off the bomb.
So. Let's hope that does not happen. It depends on Israel and the U.S..
BTW, If Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites, Iran could respond by attacking Israel's nuclear sites.
Itan is downwind from Israeli ghouls.
Create a pulse that takes out communication, opening things for real bombardment. I suspect Iran has a few surprises in is quiver.
If Israel does get nasty, regional forces might get nasty against U.S. military forces in other countries. American soldiers and civilians will die.
Things will get nasty if Pompeo or Cotton are in the Trump administration. You just know it will. Blinken, Sullivan and the others from the Biden administration may come begging o be in the Trump administration just to be there for Trump to allow Israel to "finish the job", make Adelson happy.
Trump said "promises made, promises kept", which means he owes Adelson for the $100,000,000 infusion. Money speaks loudly for Trump.
Good luck with that, so to say. The last Israeli attack on Iran was a total fiasco, it did cause enough damage (4 soldiers killed, insult to Iran's sovereignty and status as regional power) to warrant massive retaliation (not yet happened but clearly under preparation), but it was mostly a failure. Iranian nuclear facilities are all underground, which makes them almost impervious to any bombing. Iran has been preparing for this for decades now.
Iran remembers the attack on Iraq's nuclear facilities, and has prepared. You are correct.
If I was Iran and possessed nukes I would perform a surface test so that the world can see and leave me alone.