Netanyahu warns Iran of new strikes over nuclear work
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told then-U.S. President Donald Trump during a White House meeting that Israel would again strike Iran if Tehran resumed efforts to produce nuclear weapons, according to The Wall Street Journal, as cited by ynetnews.com.
Senior officials from both countries stated that Trump expressed a preference for a diplomatic solution but didn't categorically oppose Netanyahu's warning.
The discussions took place shortly after Trump publicly stated his hope that additional U.S. strikes on Iran wouldn't be necessary. "I can't imagine wanting to do that," he told reporters.
Netanyahu's comments highlight the differing calculations among Israel, the United States, and Iran regarding the extent of damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear program in recent joint operations.
While Donald Trump still aims to negotiate an agreement to compel Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, Israeli officials are skeptical that diplomacy can prevent Tehran from covertly advancing its weapons program. Meanwhile, Iran has reportedly demanded assurances that it wouldn't be attacked again as a precondition for resuming talks with Washington.
A senior Israeli official told the Journal that Israel wouldn't necessarily seek explicit U.S. approval before launching another strike, but acknowledged that Netanyahu could face opposition from Trump if Iranian activity wasn't deemed significant enough to warrant abandoning diplomatic efforts.
According to the cited source, Iran faces significant risk if its leaders continue to reject Trump's demands to halt uranium enrichment and resume nuclear development. Israeli and potentially even U.S. military responses could threaten the stability of the Iranian regime.
Before last month's strikes, Israeli intelligence estimated that Iran could produce a rudimentary nuclear device within months and an operational weapon within a year. Israeli and Pentagon officials now estimate that the recent attacks have delayed Iran's program by up to two years. However, the enriched uranium from the Isfahan facility in Iran appears to have survived the strikes and could be recoverable, a senior Israeli official said.
The official added that Iran is unlikely to recover uranium from the heavily damaged Fordow and Natanz facilities due to the impact of penetrating American bombs. However, Israel believes any renewed effort by Iran to extract uranium from Isfahan or resume its nuclear weapons program would be quickly detected.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
