Iran moving uranium from nuclear sites bombed by American Army

 

🚨⚡️BREAKING:

Israel screams
Iran is moving uranium from the rubble of sites bombed by the American army. pic.twitter.com/sITelCc5Yn

— RussiaNews 🇷🇺 (@mog_russEN) June 27, 2025

Nuclear Deal: American Trump ready to offer Tehran $30 Billion, other benefits for Iran to give up a nuclear bomb

 

BREAKING:

🇺🇲🇮🇷 Trump considering to offer Iran $30 Billion and other benefits for Iran to give up a nuclear bomb - CNN

The Trump Administration is reportedly discussing the possibility of providing Iran $30 Billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program.

He is… pic.twitter.com/tlmBFOajIs

— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) June 26, 2025

United States President Donald Trump will definitely want to use any means to resolve the nuclear deal with Iran as the architect of the setback to the Iranian Nuclear deal with the world powers and Germany. 

Trump in his first term in office withdrawn the United States from the deal introduced all forms of economy terrorism inform of sanctions and threats but non discouraged Tehran from pursuing her nuclear agenda.

12days Israel-Iran War with America's direct attacks on Iranian Nuclear Sites have only engineered Tehran determination to pursue what it called civilian peaceful nuclear program. Iran is a member of non nuclear proliferation treaty.

The question is will Islamic Republic accept Trump's offer of $30b plus sanctions relief and let go of the nuclear dream in the face of isreali aggression?

Iran says NUCLEAR PROGRAM will Resume without interruption including Enrichment

 

#BREAKING🚨‼️IRAN🇮🇷 just announce that NUCLEAR PROGRAM will RESUME without interruption including ENRICHMENT. pic.twitter.com/Nc7aP2AFpV

— Iran 🇮🇷 (@InsideIran_) June 24, 2025

Israel-Iran War: Iran sets To attend nuclear talks in Geneva on Friday with France, Germany, UK, EU says Iran foreign minister

Iran foreign minister says to attend nuclear talks in Geneva on Friday with France, Germany, UK, EU

#BREAKING Iran foreign minister says to attend nuclear talks in Geneva on Friday with France, Germany, UK, EU pic.twitter.com/P8zLHWQpY8

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 19, 2025

Israel -Iran War: Iran Promised a Surprise Retaliation that the world will forever Remember

 

if true, this is not merely a military maneuver...
it’s a message etched into the history of resistance.
a declaration, not just to adversaries, but to every oppressed soul
who waited for the day someone would rise in their name.tonight may be more than retaliation…
it may be…

— Iran | Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran 🇮🇷 (@aghamohsen17012) June 17, 2025

THERE IS A SURPRISE TONIGHT THAT THE WORLD WILL REMEMBER FOR MANY CENTURIES pic.twitter.com/uPmKWckBEM

— Iran Military Media (@IranMilitary__) June 17, 2025

Iran/Israeli war,: American Trump Will Disappoint Israeli Netayahu

Kolawole Odetola 

Its early days in the Iran/Israeli war, but some things are now clear enough. This was an unprovoked, brazen attack on Iran by Israel the type of which when launched by any anti western government against a pro western one would have had the western media and its commentariat in a meltdown. Now there is either explicit support for the Zionist state or weasel words about 'de-escalation'.

It's also that clear that not only did America know sbout Israel's plans, they helped concieve them including engaging Iran in a false and mendacious negotiation process, luring it into a false sense of security deliberately exposing its leadership to Israel's decapitation strike on Thursday evening.

The third and probably most important point that has emerged since the crisis started three days ago is this time Netanyahu might have bitten off more than he can chew. Its still early days in the war and Israel has undoubtedly inflicted damage on Iran, especially in the targeted killings of its top scientists and military officials. It has also hit but not destroyed its nuclear facilities as the most importand are hundreds of metres below ground. But the scale of Irans response has been sobering for Netsnyahu and his warmongers.

Iran has hit back hard raining hundreds of ballistic missiles on Israels most important cities like Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem killing at least 15, wounding hundreds and levelling entire blocks, devastating whole districts proving Israels vaunted missile defense system is far from infallible. In any war the party that started the conflict is always at a certain disadvantage. They have to achieve their objectives or they would have lost. All the other side has to do is survive.

By having the stated and clear aim of regime change in Iran Netanyahu has dug himself into a massive hole. While the toppling of the islamic republic cannot be totally ruled out, it is very far from the most likely outcome of this war. To kill its top military leaders Israel targetted their homes wiping out entire families including children causing revulsion in Iran. And even amongst those sections of the Iranian population who dislike the Ayatollahs, the country's nuclear scientists are hugely popular. Killing them might have been a tactical coup but strategically it was a mistake as they can be replaced and it would have disgusted even those amongst the iranian population who are not enamoured of its religious bent. 

Netanyahus problem is while Israel might have a military edge over Iran, Tehran has far more strategic depth and unlike the arab nations and militias it has fought over the last 77 years geographically, Iran is very far removed from Israel. Israels planes have to travel hundreds of miles to hit targets in what is a vast country. Iran is 8 times bigger than Israel and has nine times its population. Israeli plane have to refuel mid air and fly over arab countries to reach Iran. Apart from the logistical strain which Israel cannot long bear, the longer Iran resists the bolder the arab street will get risking explosive movements that could topple the arab dictators in the gulf enabling Israel. Then most of Iran's military assets are buried underground and scattered across its vast territory, a land mass so vast Israel has simply not got the military resources to cover.

Israels military has been built to fight short and sharp wars. It is also heavily reliant on western supplies. The major problem with this is western military arsenals have been stretched to almost breaking point by its proxy war in Ukraine. America is desperately short of missiles particularly the vital missile interceptors which Isreal needs for its 'Iron Dome' defense shield. In the missile war now being waged between Iran and Israel supplies of missile interceptors is far more important than those of the attacking cruise or ballistic missiles as it takes up to 8 interceptors to bring down one incoming missile. Meaning the assailant can fire off decoys to exhaust the limited supply of interceptors. Russia has used this tactic in Ukraine to the point where Kiev has so few interceptors left that incoming Russian missiles now have free reign over Ukraines skies. Iran is using the same tactic in its war with Israel. 

Another problem, a huge one for Israel is the lethality of Irans ballistic missiles and hypersonic projectiles, some of whose sophistication matches anything the Russians or Chinese have. It should not be forgotten that in the early stages of the Ukraine war Russia relied heavily on Iran for its drone and missile know how. This has been proved with devastating effect over the last few days with a some Israeli neighbourhoods beginning to resemble Gaza's bombed out apocalyptic streets. Iran still has thousands of these missiles. Possibly tens of thousands of them. The iranian strategy clearly is to target Israeli civilians to undermine a government that more than any other in the world draws the very reason for its existence on protecting its populace from external harm. The senselessness of Netanyahu's genocidal behaviour over the last two years means that the Iranian tactic of targetting Israeli civilians will not draw any significant outrage from around the world. It also threatens Israels very existence. As if the jewish state cant protect jews - the very reason it was created, why should jews live there. If Israel loses this war the result will be milions of israelis will emigrate threatening the states very survival.

Netanyahu knows he might lose this war especially with the unexpected ferocity of the Iranian response to his unprovoked attack. His only hope is to drag the US in directly. But this will be a huge problem for Trump. Beneath his bluster Donald Trump is fickle and incapable of long term commitment to anything. Unlike say a Putin or China's Xi, he lacks a strategic grasp of the world and the steely resolve to see through his actions or think and act long term. He is transactional and like the Estate agent he is has the attention span of a gnat. He starts fights he cant finish then simply walks away from the chaos he instigated or gives up and backs down. He did so with the China tarrifs, with the Houthi attacks and has recently backed down from.his mass raids on illegal or undocumented immigrants after masive pushback from the entertainment, leisure and agricultural industry who rely on their labour and the massive street protests it sparked. He is no Nixon. The danger for Israel and the American establishment and Trump himself is him acutally getting involved in the attacks on Iran. If the Iranians hit back and kill American soldiers in bases across the middle east, destroy all the oil platforms in the gulf sending oil prices soaring or sink an American warshio Trump going by his form and his erratic behaviour is likely as he did with the China tarrifs chicken out blaming everybody, the Iranians, Netsnyahu, the Europeans everyone but himself. Netanyahu has very few options in the war he started and they are getting less each day it rages on.

Operation True Promise III : Iran Launched Barrage of Missiles Against Israel , Trump Threatening US Military Might Against Terhan If Attacked

 

Operation True Promise III has officially entered its next phase. pic.twitter.com/x9GRxHXEyB

— Iran Military Watch (@IRIran_Military) June 14, 2025

 Islamic Republic of Iran fires a fresh barrage of missiles at Israel, state television announces, as the rivals exchanged fire for a third day.

'A new wave of Operation Honest Promise 3 began a few minutes ago,' Iranian state TV reports.

US President Donald Trump has said the full US military might will be unleashed against Iran if Terhan attacks American military bases in the middle east.

#BREAKING Trump says if Iran attacks 'full strength' of US military will 'come down' pic.twitter.com/nBAG3BTwAd

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 15, 2025

Trump said: 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,' Donald Trump warns, adding that 'we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel' 

Iranian officials say 18 of Iran's 31 provinces have been affected by Israeli airstrikes. Here's a map of the major cities and regions targeted by Israel so far. It is a full scale war against Israel.

According to Iran International, Iranian Ali Asghar Hejazi, deputy chief of staff to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is in negotiations with Russian officials to secure a potential exit from Iran for himself and his family if the situation deteriorates.

Iran has threatened to intensify its attacks if Israel continues hostilities.

The Israeli Air Force carried out an “extensive series of intelligence-based strikes” on a number of targets in Tehran, including the headquarters of Iran’s Ministry of Defense, the Israeli military said. Iran’s Tasnim News Agency earlier reported that the strike caused minor damage to one of the ministry’s administrative buildings.

Terhan said Israeli strikes targeted South Pars natural gas field – the largest in the world – and Shahran oil depot. Videos from Tehran show a large fire burning and smoke billowing in the distance.

The next round of US-Iran nuclear negotiations, due to take place in Oman this weekend, has been canceled, Oman’s foreign minister has said. His Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, earlier said such talks were “unjustifiable” while Israel’s attacks continued.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the attacks against Iran as unprovoked.

Iranian FM says an Arab country will deliver Trump's letter to Tehran

American President Donald Trump’s letter to Iran’s clerical establishment “will soon be delivered to Tehran by an Arab country,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in televised remarks on Wednesday.

According to Reuters reports Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted last week that Tehran would not be bullied into negotiations, after Trump said he had sent a letter urging Iran to engage in talks on a new nuclear deal.

It should be recallef that in 2018, President Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on  nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran, which retaliated by moving away from its nuclear-related commitments a year later.

Reacting to Wednesday’s closed doors UN Security Council meeting over Iran’s nuclear programme, Araghchi said that the gathering was a “new and bizarre process that puts into question the goodwill of states requesting it”.

The meeting was requested by six of the council’s 15 members — France, Greece, Panama, South Korea, Britain and the US — due to Iran’s expansion of its stock of close to weapons-grade uranium.

Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is “dramatically” accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60 per cent purity, close to the roughly 90 per cent weapons-grade level, the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned.

Talks between Tehran and the remaining members of the 2015 nuclear pact have gained momentum as Iran’s nuclear programme remains an important global issue.

Araghchi said that Iran would soon have a fifth round of talks with the European powers forming part of the nuclear deal — France, Britain and Germany — and confirmed a meeting in Beijing on Friday with the other members, Russia and China.

Source

NATO Headache: Russia may support North Korea's missile and nuclear programs

North Korea leader hosts a welcome ceremony for Putin

.

NATO is concerned about potential Russian support for North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Jerusalem post reported.

According to Sputnik, NATO Chief stated that Putin's visit to North Korea underscored for the alliance the "global nature" of security and the importance of partnership with Asia.

NATO Secretary-General @jensstoltenberg stated that Putin's visit to North Korea underscored for the alliance the "global nature" of security and the importance of partnership with Asia. pic.twitter.com/5VjT6Kilry

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) June 18, 2024

North Korea leader hosts a welcome ceremony for Putin

Kim Jong-un hosts welcome ceremony for Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang https://t.co/ec7kyGDWan

— The Independent (@Independent) June 19, 2024

NATO to put nuclear weapons on standby amid growing threat from Russia & China

NATO's remark was an "escalation of tension" says Russia 

NATO Chief 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ) is in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons, taking them out of storage and placing them on standby, in the face of what it called a growing threat from Russia and China, the head of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.


Stoltenberg , according to UK 's Telegraph newspaper said there were live consultations between members to use transparency around its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent."I won't go into operational details about how many nuclear warheads should be operational and which should be stored, but we need to consult on these issues. That's exactly what we're doing," he told the paper.


The NATO chief said it was necessary to show the world the alliance's nuclear arsenal to send a clear message to potential enemies.




He said: "Transparency helps to communicate the direct message that we, of course, are a nuclear alliance." NATO's aim is, of course, a world without nuclear weapons, but as long as nuclear weapons exist, we will remain a nuclear alliance, because a world where Russia, China and North Korea have nuclear weapons, and NATO does not, is a more dangerous world."

Stoltenberg said last week that nuclear weapons were NATO's "ultimate security guarantee" and a means to preserve peace.


The Kremlin said Stoltenberg's remark was an "escalation of tension". Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the comments appeared to contradict a communique issued at a weekend conference in Switzerland that said any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine context was inadmissible.

Stoltenberg later said Russia was trying to create confusion and that his comments referred to the modernisation of Nato's nuclear deterrent, including the replacement of F-16 jets with F-35s and the modernisation of weapons deployed in Europe, which he said has been known for a long time.

Russia is trying a way to always also create a situation where they can blame Nato, and the reality is that Nato is transparent," Stoltenberg told reporters on a visit to Washington. A Nato spokesperson had earlier sought to clarify Stoltenberg's remarks, saying: "We have an ongoing modernisation programme to replace legacy weapons and aircraft. Beyond that, there are no significant changes to our nuclear deterrent."

Russia, which sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, says the US and its European allies are pushing the world to the brink of nuclear confrontation by giving Ukraine billions of dollars worth of weapons. Prez Putin has said Russia is technically ready for nuclear war, and that Moscow could use nuclear weapons to defend itself in extreme circumstances.

The Iran's SIX for June 28 Snap Presidential Election

The contest should be between the experienced IRGC and Basij operatives, Ghalibaf and Zakani

The Iran's Guardian Council has announced the final list of six candidates approved to compete in the presidential election scheduled for June 28. 

According to the interior ministry, the all male list consists of senior government figures such as hardliner Saeed Jalili who is Ali Khamenei's representative in the Iranian Supreme National Security Council.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the current Parliament Speaker and Masoud Pezeshkian, a 'reformist' parliamentarian. Also in the approved list is Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former minister of justice and interior, 

The Guardian Council also gave endorsement to Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, a current Vice President, and another hardliner, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani. 

According to a report by Iran International, several high-profile figures were disqualified from running, including ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, and former Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri.

The pattern of selection is similar to the 2021 election, when Ahmadinejad and Larijani were rejected and only a second-echelon 'moderate' candidate was allowed to run. The result was a low-turnout election when Ebrahim Raisi passed the line in the first round.

Some analysts in Iran have told the local media that the race now will most likely be between Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator and an opponent of an agreement with the West, and Ghalibaf who is considered a more flexible politician. 

In any case, the issue of relations with the West and the fate of Iran's nuclear program are under the purview of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Meanwhile, Jalili, 58, is making his third presidential bid, having been a significant figure in Iran's nuclear negotiation team and holding various senior positions within the ministry of foreign affairs. Jalili, who holds a Ph.D. in political science from Imam Sadiq University, is noted for his uncompromising conservative stance.

Former IRGC general Ghalibaf, 63, who is the current Parliament Speaker, is known for his military and political experience.

The only reform leaning candidate, Pezeshkian, 69, has served as health minister and chancellor of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. He is also a trained cardiac surgeon, holding a medical degree from Tabriz University.

Pourmohammadi, 64, infamous for his role in the "Death Commission" during the 1980s, has been a polarizing figure due to his past actions as deputy intelligence minister.

Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, currently serving as Vice President, head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, and an ENT surgeon, has maintained a conservative stance throughout his political career, representing the Mashhad and Kalat electoral district in Parliament for several terms. He holds a medical degree from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

Mayor of Tehran, Zakani, 58, noted for his confrontational style and conservative views. holds a Ph.D. in nuclear medicine from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. He has been an outspoken critic of the nuclear deal and a key figure in the conservative camp supporting the crackdowns on women defying compulsory hijab.

The snap election follows the sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash on May 19 along with his entourage.

The candidates' approval by the Guardian Council, a body of clerics known for its allegiance to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, highlights the clerical rulers' continued grip on power.

 The upcoming elections are expected to see record low participation as the population rejects the sham polls rigged by the country's theocratic dictator.

The disqualification of heavyweights such as outspoken Ahmadinejad and Larijani came with mixed reactions from among the public.

 Ahmadinejad was highly unlikely to get through, but many thought that Larijani, as a quiet insider, will make it to final stage considering Khamenei's comment after his "unfair disqualification" in 2021.

On the other hand, the 'reformists' must be somewhat disappointed as only one of their official candidates has his credentials approved, Iranian analyst and Iran International contributor Behruz Turani said. 

The only reform-minded candidate, Pezeshkian's chances to win the presidency is uncertain because of his ethnic voter base, something that Khamenei is known to detest.

The final battle will be among "revolutionary" Jalili, insider Ghalibaf, and ambitious Zakani, observers say.

Khamenei sees no difference among them although he definitely does not like Jalili's link to the over-ambitious and ultra-hardliner Paydari party, according to sources.

In view of the security situation in the post 2022 protests, Khamenei's ideal candidates are more likely Ghalibaf and Zakani, both experienced IRGC and Basij operatives with a proven track record of suppressing dissent.

United States warns Israel its attacks on Iran nuclear program are counterproductive — NYT

It is no long a new apotheosis that threatening Iran by America and allies, economy sanctions or "economy Terrorism" as Tehran called it has always been counterproductive and by continuing doing so America is only putting all it's Allies in the region at risk, although Washington has repeatedly claims all options are on the table.

In contrast, the he officials of the United States have warned Israel that its attacks against the Iranian nuclear program are counterproductive and have enabled Tehran to rebuild an even more efficient enrichment system, according to the New York Times report Sunday.

NYT, citing officials familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussion between Washington and Jerusalem, as the Biden Administration continues to try and bring Iran back into the nuclear deal, the report said that Israeli officials have dismissed the warnings, saying they have “no intention of letting up.”

While in the last 20 months there have been four explosions at Iranian nuclear facilities attributed to Israel, along with the killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, the report said Washington officials have cautioned their Israeli counterparts that while such efforts may be “tactically satisfying,” they are “ultimately counterproductive.” And that Iran has managed to resume enrichment within months, often installing newer machines that can enrich uranium far faster.

However, the officials said Israel appeared unmoved by the arguments, and this was one of the many areas on which the US and Israel disagree regarding efforts to thwart Tehran’s drive to build nuclear weapons.

Further complicating matters was the fact that Iran has apparently managed to improve its defenses, particularly in the cyber field, the report said. As a consequence, cyber attacks like the Stuxnet attack that crippled centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear enrichment site for more than a year, an attack widely reported to be a joint US-Israeli effort, have become “much harder now to pull off.”

The major concern now was how close Iran has come to being able to build a nuclear weapon since then-US president Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018.

This week, with Iran set for talks with world powers in Vienna on November 29, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had again increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Iran’s stockpile, as of November 6, was many times in excess of the limit laid down in the agreement with world powers, said the IAEA report. Such highly enriched uranium can be easily refined to make atomic weapons, which is why world powers have sought to contain Tehran’s nuclear program.

The Vienna-based agency told members that it is still not able to verify Iran’s exact stockpile of enriched uranium due to the limitations Tehran imposed on UN inspectors earlier this year.

The IAEA has been unable to access surveillance footage of Iranian nuclear sites or of online enrichment monitors and electronic seals since February. The agency’s chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press this month that the situation was like “flying in a heavily clouded sky.”

Sunday’s NYT report said that since abandoning the agreement, Iran had managed to reduce its breakout time to a bomb from about a year to just a few weeks.

“Before Mr. Trump decided to scrap the deal, Iran had adhered to the limits of the 2015 agreement — which by most estimates kept it about a year from ‘breakout,’ the point where it has enough material for a bomb. While estimates vary, that buffer is now down to somewhere between three weeks and a few months, which would change the geopolitical calculation throughout the Middle East,” the report said.

US officials have publicly warned that Iran’s violations are making it increasingly unlikely that there can be a return to the 2015 deal as it was.

The US envoy for Iran Robert Malley warned Friday that Tehran was approaching the point of no return for reviving a nuclear deal after it boosted its stocks of enriched uranium before the talks resume this month.

“The time will come if Iran continues at this pace with the advancements they’ve made, [it] will make it impossible even if we were going to go back to the JCPOA to recapture the benefits,” Malley told the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain, referring to the deal by its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“Iran’s advances are spreading alarm across the region… that’s what’s making the clock tick faster and making all of us say that the time is short for a return to the JCPOA,” Malley said.

And I want to be clear, because there’s no ambiguity about what they seem to be doing now, which is to drag their feet on the nuclear talks and accelerate the progress in their nuclear program,” he added.

The US envoy said he was not encouraged by the statements from the new Iranian government of President Ebrahim Raisi, which earlier on Friday accused Washington of conducting a “propaganda campaign” against the country.

With the possibility of a return to the 2015 deal fading, the US was examining the possibility of hammering out an interim deal with Iran, the New York Times report said, confirming a separate report last week. “Inside the White House, there has been a scramble in recent days to explore whether some kind of interim deal might be possible to freeze Iran’s production of more enriched uranium and its conversion of that fuel to metallic form — a necessary step in fabricating a warhead,” the Times said. “In return, the United States might ease a limited number of sanctions. That would not solve the problem. But it might buy time for negotiations, while holding off Israeli threats to bomb Iranian facilities.”

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan raised the prospect of an interim agreement with Iran, to allow more time for nuclear negotiations, in talks with his Israeli counterpart, Eyal Hulata, the Axios news site reported last week.

A pair of American sources said Sullivan and Hulata were just “brainstorming,” and that the proposal was suggested by an unspecified European ally of the US.

The US sources said the proposal was for Iran to suspend a disallowed nuclear activity such as enriching uranium to 60 percent, in exchange for the US and allied countries releasing some frozen Iranian money, or issuing sanctions waivers on humanitarian goods.

An unnamed Israeli official cited in the Axios report said Hulata told Sullivan he was against the idea and Israel’s concern was that any interim agreement could become permanent, allowing Iran to maintain its nuclear infrastructure and supply of uranium it has built up.

While Israel has been more direct, staying her readiness to attack Iran’s nuclear program and allocating billions of dollars to IDF to prepare and train for a potential strike, the United States has been trying to reassure its allies in recent days that if diplomacy fails, other options are available.

“The United States remains committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Manama event, which was put on by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure,” he said.

However, Iran has proven on several occasions that they are not soft power. In retaliation for the assasination of general suleimani Tehran fired precision missiles from their territories and they successfully destroyed American military base in northern Iraq. On another occasion the Houthi forces in Yemen flew barrages of Armed drones into Aramco oil field in Saudi Arabia crippling oil production, Iran was behind the attack.

Any aggressive act against Iran will yeild response from Tehran no matter how and irrespective of who is the aggressor and may not halt the Persia nuclear programs for the time being.

Currently, Iran is not known to  possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and has been signatory to treaties repudiating the possession of WMDs including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 

Iran has first-hand knowledge of WMD effects as over 100,000 Iranian troops and civilians were victims of chemical weapons during the 1980s Iran–Iraq War.

Incase talks fail, More sanctions are coming against Tehran as Israel, US hold secret meeting over ‘Plan B’ on Iran

Tel Aviv and Washington have been secretly meeting over a possible imposition of additional sanctions against Tehran.

According to the report by Axios, Israel and the U.S. have held secret discussions in the past week over a “Plan B” in case talks with Iran over its nuclear program fail.

The report indicated that one of these meetings was held between U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his Israeli counterpart, Eyal Hulata, via a secure video conference callwhere  the Israeli side noted the importance of developing a “Plan B” regarding the Iranian threat as diplomatic talks with Tehran have reached a stalemate and the regime’s nuclear program only seems to be accelerating.

According to an Israeli official cited by Axois, the U.S. said it was also concerned about Iran and would impose additional sanctions on Tehran if the talks do not resume soon.

 

The U.S. “remains engaged in ongoing consultations with the Israeli government on a range of issues related to the challenge posed by Iran,” a White House spokesperson told Axios.

On Tuesday, Iran signaled that negotiations would resume in the upcoming weeks but did not specify an actual date, Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

Negotiations held in Vienna over Iran’s nuclear agreement were cut short following the election of Ebrahim Raisi as president in mid-June and have not resumed since.

Months later, Western powers have expressed concern that the time for negotiations is running out, as Iran’s nuclear program is expanding beyond the limits set by the original deal.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned on Thursday that the West was losing its patience. “The clock is ticking. We’re not going to wait two or three months for the Iranian delegation to come back to the table in Vienna,” he said, according to France24.

Washington indicated on Thursday that it was prepared to be patient, while considering other contingency plans in case Tehran does not cooperate, Reuters reported.

“We’re still interested. We still want to come back to the table,” a senior U.S. State Department official was cited by Reuters as saying. “The window of opportunity is open. It won’t be open forever if Iran takes a different course,” he added.

“The ‘Plan B’ that we’re concerned about is the one that Iran may be contemplating, where they want to continue to build their nuclear program and not be seriously engaged in talks to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”

STRATEGIC LIES AND STRATEGIC DECEPTIONS: America Needs to Start Telling the Truth About Israel’s Nukes

American politicians often warn that if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, it will spark a nuclear stampede across the Middle East. Allowing Tehran to get the bomb, Senator Robert Menendez, the current chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, predicted in March 2020, could “set off a dangerous arms race in the region.” In an interview in December, President-elect Joe Biden cautioned that if Iran went nuclear, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt might too, “and the last goddamn thing we need in that part of the world is a buildup of nuclear capability.”

Such statements are so familiar that it’s easy to overlook their artifice. In warning that Iran could turn the Middle East nuclear, American politicians imply that the region is nuclear-free now. But it’s not. Israel already has nuclear weapons. You’d just never know it from America’s leaders, who have spent the last half-century feigning ignorance. This deceit undercuts America’s supposed commitment to nuclear nonproliferation, and it distorts the American debate over Iran. It’s time for the Biden administration to tell the truth.

American officials began hiding the truth about Israeli nuclear weapons after Israeli leaders hid the truth from them. In the early 1960s, writes Avner Cohen in his book “The Worst Kept Secret,” Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion repeatedly told President John F. Kennedy that the reactor Israel was building in the desert town of Dimona “was for peaceful purposes only.” When the United States sent inspectors to the site, the Israelis concocted an elaborate ruse, which included building fake walls to conceal the elevators that led to an underground reprocessing plant. By decade’s end, the die was cast. The C.I.A. concluded that Israel already possessed nuclear warheads.

So Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Golda Meir hatched a deal. Neither Israel nor the United States would acknowledge that Israel had nuclear weapons, and Washington would not pressure Israel to submit them to international oversight. For 50 years now, American presidents have abided by the bargain. Scholars believe that when Israel tested a nuclear weapon in the Indian Ocean in 1979, the Carter administration covered it up. In 2009, when a journalist asked Barack Obama if he knew of “any country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?” Mr. Obama responded, “I don’t want to speculate.”

Feigning ignorance about Israeli nuclear weapons makes a mockery of America’s efforts at nonproliferation. Mr. Obama vowed to pursue a nuclear-free world. Yet to prevent public discussion of Israel’s arsenal, his administration helped squelch a United Nations conference on a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. The Biden administration continues to impose punishing sanctions on Iran in an attempt to force its government to accept inspections more stringent than those required by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Meanwhile, Israel, which has never signed the N.P.T., permits no inspections at all.

This hypocrisy leads many around the world to smirk when American diplomats claim to be defending the “rules-based order.” It also empowers those Iranians who claim Tehran has the right to match its regional rival.

Finally, the American government’s deceptive silence prevents a more honest debate at home about the dangers an Iranian nuclear weapon would pose. American politicians sometimes say an Iranian bomb would pose an “existential” threat to Israel. That’s a dubious claim, given that Israel possesses a nuclear deterrent it can deploy on air, land and sea. But many Americans find the claim plausible because, according to recent polling conducted by Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland, barely 50 percent know Israel has nuclear weapons. A higher percentage thinks Tehran has the bomb.

Even if an Iranian bomb wouldn’t existentially threaten Israel, the United States should still work to forestall one diplomatically. With negotiations with Tehran at risk of collapse, the Biden administration should commit to lifting the sanctions that are crippling Iran’s economy in return for verifiable limits on Iran’s nuclear capacity. But if those efforts fail — and the Biden administration faces pressure to wage war rather than allow Iran to gain the capacity to build a nuclear weapon — it’s crucial that Americans make an informed decision about the risk a nuclear Iran poses to America’s closest ally in the Middle East. That’s harder when the American government never publicly admits that Israel has the means to deter a nuclear attack.

The Biden administration is not going to force Israel to give up its nuclear weapons. But that doesn’t mean it must undermine America’s global credibility and deceive its people by denying reality. Perhaps a more honest American discussion of Israel’s nuclear arsenal will breathe new life into the distant dream of a nuclear-free Middle East. Even if that doesn’t happen, it will be bracing, after a half-century of lying by omission, simply to hear America’s leaders tell the truth.

Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) is professor of journalism and political science at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York. He is also editor at large of Jewish Currents and writes The Beinart Notebook, a weekly newsletter."

Tehran Ballistic Missiles: Iran’s president-elect Ebrahim Raisi would not meet with President Joe Biden nor negotiate, sanctions must be lifted unconditionally

By Associated Press

Iran’s president-elect said Monday he would not meet with President Joe Biden nor negotiate over Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its support of regional terror proxies, sticking to a hard-line position following his landslide victory in last week’s election.




Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi also described himself as a “defender of human rights” when asked about his involvement in the 1988 mass execution of some 5,000 people. It marked the first time he’s been put on the spot on live television over that dark moment in Iranian history at the end of the Iran-Iraq war.


“The U.S. is obliged to lift all oppressive sanctions against Iran,” Raisi said at the news conference.


Raisi sat in front of a sea of microphones, most from Iran and countries home to militias supported by Tehran. He looked nervous at the beginning of his comments but slowly became more at ease over the hourlong news conference.


Asked about Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support of regional terror proxies, Raisi described the issues as “non-negotiable.”


Iran also relies on militias like Yemen’s Houthis, Gaza’s Hamas, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, deemed terror groups by a number of entities throughout the world, to fight proxy wars against enemies like Saudi Arabia and Israel, respectively.


On a possible meeting with Biden, Raisi simply answered: “No.” His competitor in the election, Abdolnasser Hemmati, had suggested during campaigning that he’d be potentially willing to meet Biden.


The White House did not immediately respond to Raisi’s statements Monday. Raisi will become the first serving Iranian president sanctioned by the U.S. government even before entering office, in part over his time as the head of Iran’s internationally criticized judiciary — one of the world’s top executioners.


The so-called victory of Raisi, a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, came amid the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Millions of Iranians stayed home in defiance of a vote they saw as tipped in Raisi’s favor.


Of those who did vote, 3.7 million people either accidentally or intentionally voided their ballots, far beyond the amount seen in previous elections and suggesting some wanted none of the four candidates. In official results, Raisi won 17.9 million votes overall, nearly 62% of the total 28.9 million cast.


Observers have called the Iranian elections a sham.

Raisi’s victory puts hard-liners firmly in control across the government as negotiations in Vienna continue to try to save a tattered deal meant to limit Iran’s nuclear program, at a time when Tehran is enriching uranium at 60%, its highest levels ever, though still short of weapons-grade levels. Representatives of the world powers party to the deal returned to their capitals for consultations following the latest round of negotiations on Sunday.


Top diplomats from nations involved in the talks said that further progress had been made Sunday between Iran and global powers to try to restore a 2015 agreement to contain Iranian nuclear development that was abandoned by the Trump administration. They said it was now up to the governments involved in the negotiations to make political decisions.


Raisi’s election victory has raised concerns that it could complicate a possible return to the nuclear agreement. In his remarks Monday, Raisi called sanctions relief as “central to our foreign policy” and exhorted the U.S. to “return and implement your commitments” in the deal.


On Saudi Arabia, which has recently started secret talks with Iran in Baghdad to reduce tensions with Iran, Raisi said that Iran would have “no problem” with a possible reopening of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the “restoration of relations faces no barrier.” The embassy was closed in 2016 when relations deteriorated.


Raisi struck a defiant tone, however, when asked about the 1988 executions, which saw sham retrials of political prisoners, militants and others that would become known as “death commissions.”

After Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini accepted a U.N.-brokered cease-fire, members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, heavily armed by Saddam Hussein, stormed across the Iranian border in a surprise attack. Iran ultimately blunted their assault.


The trials began around that time, with defendants asked to identify themselves. Those who responded “mujahedeen” were sent to their deaths, while others were questioned about their willingness to “clear minefields for the army of the Islamic Republic,” according to a 1990 Amnesty International report.

International rights groups estimate that as many as 5,000 people were executed. Raisi served on the commissions.

“I am proud of being a defender of human rights and of people’s security and comfort as a prosecutor wherever I was,” he said. “All actions I carried out during my office were always in the direction of defending human rights,” he added. “Today in the presidential post, I feel obliged to defend human rights.”

AP

How Iran’s largest navy ship catches fire, sinks in Gulf of Oman

By Associated Press

The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances, semi-official news agencies reported.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies said efforts failed to save the support warship Kharg, named after the island that serves as the main oil terminal for Iran.

The blaze began around 2:25 a.m. and firefighters tried to contain it, Fars said. The vessel sank near the Iranian port of Jask, some 1,270 kilometers (790 miles) southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Photos circulated on Iranian social media of sailors wearing life jackets evacuating the vessel as a fire burned behind them. State TV and semiofficial news agencies referred to the Kharg as a “training ship.” Fars published video of thick, black smoke rising from the ship early Wednesday morning.

a “training ship.” Fars published video of thick, black smoke rising from the ship early Wednesday morning.

 

Satellite photos from Planet Labs Inc. analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Kharg off to the west of Jask on Tuesday. Satellites from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that track fires from space detected a blaze at the site of the Jask that started just before the time of the fire reported by Fars.

The Kharg serves as one of a few vessels in the Iranian navy capable of providing replenishment at sea for its other ships. It also can lift heavy cargo and serve as a launch point for helicopters. The warship, built in Britain and launched in 1977, entered the Iranian navy in 1984 after lengthy negotiations that followed Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s navy typically handles patrols in the Gulf of Oman and the wider seas, while the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard operates in the shallower waters of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. In recent months, however, the navy launched a slightly larger commercial tanker called the Makran it converted into serving a similar function as the Kharg.

Iranian officials offered no cause for the fire aboard the Kharg. However, it comes after a series of mysterious explosions that began in 2019 targeting ships in the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. Navy later accused Iran of targeting the ships with limpet mines, timed explosives typically attached by divers to a vessel’s hull.

Iran denied targeting the vessels, though U.S. Navy footage showed members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard removing one unexploded limpet mine from a vessel. The incidents came amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

The sinking of the Kharg marks the latest naval disaster for Iran. In 2020 during an Iranian military training exercise, a missile mistakenly struck a naval vessel near the port of Jask, killing19 sailors and wounding 15. Also in 2018, an Iranian navy destroyer sank in the Caspian Sea.

Nuclear deal talks restart: Iran says it could enrich uranium to 90% purity if it wanted to, but is ‘not seeking weapon’ - Rouhani

(RT) The enrichment of weapons-grade uranium is within Iran's reach, but it chose to stick to a lower purity level because it does not want to make a bomb, President Hassan Rouhani has said as talks to revive the nuclear deal continue.


This week, Iran announced it would start enriching uranium to 60% purity after reporting an alleged Israeli sabotage attack at its Natanz nuclear facility, a move it said was intended to undermine indirect Iranian-US negotiations for a return to the 2015 agreement.

Speaking on Thursday, Rouhani dismissed US and European concerns about Iran moving toward weapons-grade uranium.

He also said Tehran would resume commitments under the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), once Western signatories uphold their side of the bargain.

“We could have done 60% [enrichment] before. Today we can do 90% enrichment if we want to, but we are not seeking a nuclear bomb,” he said during the inauguration of petrochemical projects.

Whenever you return to the JCPOA commitments, we will return to our obligations immediately and our enrichment will not be above 3.67% as allowed by the JCPOA,” he added, according to the Mehr news agency.

France, Britain and Germany have expressed “concern” at Iran's plans to achieve 60% enrichment and to install 1,000 additional nuclear centrifuges at Natanz.

The ‘E3’ trio signed the JCPOA in 2015, along with Russia, China, Iran, the EU and the US, before President Donald Trump announced America's unilateral withdrawal from the deal in 2018.

The deal's other signatories are mediating indirect talks for the agreement's revival between Iran and the US in Vienna, with discussions resuming on Thursday.

The parties have agreed to try and compile a list of US sanctions that could be lifted alongside nuclear commitments Iran could return to, according to Reuters. Washington has previously demanded Iran uphold its commitments under the nuclear deal before providing sanctions relief.

Under the JCPOA, Iran is not permitted to enrich uranium to a higher purity than 3.67%, while there are also limits on the centrifuges it can use and the amount of uranium it can stockpile.

The country began breaching its JCPOA commitments after Trump announced the US' withdrawal from the deal and imposed a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions against Tehran.

Source

NUCLEAR DEAL: US, Iran hold 1st indirect talks in Vienna

The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran are holding indirect talks on Tuesday in what could be the first step toward reviving the 2015 nuclear deal that constrains Tehran's nuclear facilities in exchange for sanctions relief, ABC news reported.

According to the report, the indirect meetings which was hosted by the European Union will work toward two separate agreements -- on how the U.S. and Iran can both return to compliance with the deal's terms.

It should be recalled that the former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord in 2018, re-imposing strict U.S. sanctions on Iran's economy and government which was termed Economic Terrorism against the Islamic Republic.

Tehran in response began violating the restrictions on its nuclear program by enriching more uranium at higher levels, and with more advanced centrifuges which Iranian authorities claimed us reversible.

But especially amid fierce pressure in Washington and from regional allies like Israel, a renewed nuclear deal would still leave a long road ahead for the Biden administration, which seeks to "lengthen and strengthen" the original agreement, including by addressing Iran's support for proxy forces across the region and its ballistic missile program.

"We don't underestimate the scale of the challenges ahead. These are early days. We don't anticipate an early or immediate breakthrough," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Monday -- before calling the indirect talks a "healthy step forward."

U.S. special envoy for Iran Rob Malley will lead the delegation, which will meet with European, Chinese and Russian counterparts. Iran's delegation will have its own separate meetings with those teams, which together constitute the remaining members of the agreement.

While there is no face-to-face meeting planned with Iran, the U.S. still "remains open" to one, according to Price. The U.S. first offered to meet the Iranians in February, but weeks of outreach through European allies have been rejected by the Iranian government.

While both sides have downplayed Tuesday's meetings, it could mark the beginning of a quick return to the deal, which saw Iran agree to international inspections of and certain time-limited restrictions on its nuclear program. In exchange, sanctions were lifted by the United Nations, the U.S., and the other world powers who signed on -- the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China.

But especially amid fierce pressure in Washington and from regional allies like Israel, a renewed nuclear deal would still leave a long road ahead for the Biden administration, which seeks to "lengthen and strengthen" the original agreement, including by addressing Iran's support for proxy forces across the region and its ballistic missile program.

"We don't underestimate the scale of the challenges ahead. These are early days. We don't anticipate an early or immediate breakthrough," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Monday -- before calling the indirect talks a "healthy step forward."

U.S. special envoy for Iran Rob Malley will lead the delegation, which will meet with European, Chinese and Russian counterparts. Iran's delegation will have its own separate meetings with those teams, which together constitute the remaining members of the agreement.

While there is no face-to-face meeting planned with Iran, the U.S. still "remains open" to one, according to Price. The U.S. first offered to meet the Iranians in February, but weeks of outreach through European allies have been rejected by the Iranian government.

Just last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted a face-to-face meeting was "unnecessary." Iran has called for the U.S. to move first in returning to the deal since Trump was the first to violate it, even refusing to meet the Americans until the U.S. government begins lifting sanctions -- while Biden has vowed to keep sanctions in place until Iran returns to compliance.

"What is promising about the Vienna talks is there seems to be an understanding now by both the Biden administration and the Iranians that neither side is going to go first. It may seem like semantics, and maybe it is. But I think what we have is at least the germ of a process whereby both sides can say we're moving simultaneously, both sides can save a little face and put together a roadmap going forward," said Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank.

The talks begin Tuesday in Vienna, the capital of Austria, where much of the diplomacy around the original deal unfolded. While they're slated for one day, it could extend on, especially if the separate "working groups" make progress and bring in technical experts to finalize details on Iranian and U.S. compliance.

That alone will be no easy task. There are critical questions remaining, including how quickly Iran can dismantle the advanced centrifuges now spinning, how it will reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium, and what to do about its gains in research and development as it violated its terms of the deal.

On the U.S. side, there are questions around which sanctions the Biden administration will lift, after the Trump administration targeted hundreds of Iranian businesses, officials, economic sectors, and state-owned firms and agencies.

Iran has called for all Trump-era sanctions to be removed, saying they violated the deal. But the State Department indicated Monday that it will only lift those related to Iran's nuclear program.

"We certainly will not entertain unilateral gestures or concessions to get Iran -- to induce Iran to a better place," Price said during the department's daily press briefing. "We'll continue to be guided by what the original JCPOA called for, which is nuclear sanctions."

But Press TV, an Iranian state media outlet, reported that Malley and the U.S. delegation will "leave Vienna empty-handed if the Tuesday meeting would result in anything other than the removal of all U.S. sanctions," citing an "an informed source close to the Iranian negotiating team."

Iran's IRGC Navy reveals new ‘missile city’ with advanced capabilities

The Islamic Republic of Iran on Monday released images and film footage of what it said was a new Revolutionary Guards base armed with cruise and ballistic missiles and "electronic warfare" equipment.

Watch: IRGC Navy has unveiled a new "missile city". Location undisclosed.

According to a report by state TV which described the base as a "missile city" and showed rows of what looked like missiles in a depot with cement walls. It did not give any details on its location. Alireza Tangsiri, the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards' naval unit, told state TV the base had equipment to detect enemy signals.

According to the report, the base's "electronic warfare equipment" included radar, monitoring, simulation and disruption systems. "The new systems and equipment make IRGC Navy capable of launching precision missiles from underground, launching naval mines with different ranges, firing at 360-degree[s], confronting electronic warfare, and increasing the range and destruction power in operations," reported Mehr, a semi-official Iranian news agency.

What we see today is a small section of the great and expansive missile capability of Revolutionary Guards' naval forces," Guards Commander Major General Hossein Salami said in the broadcast. According to Mehrs, Salami also "noted that four decades of enemies’ unity against the Islamic Republic has only resulted in their defeat and disappointment," and referred specifically to the "imposition of sanctions and waging [of] an economic war."

Iran, which routinely boasts of technological advances in its armed forces, has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East.

Last July, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy chief said that Tehran has built underground "missile cities" along the Gulf coastline, warning of a "nightmare for Iran's enemies."

Iran has established underground onshore and offshore missile cities all along the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that would be a nightmare for Iran's enemies," Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri told the Sobh-e Sadeq weekly.

In late June, there was an explosion from an area in its eastern mountains that analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites. American and Israeli officials have denied sabotage of the missile site.

In 2019, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said that Iran has the largest underground facility program in the Middle East.

According to an assessment by the agency that year, "Iran's size and sophistication of its missile force continues to grow despite decades of counterproliferation efforts aimed at curbing its advancement Iran considers missiles to be a strategic necessity due to the limitations of its air force."

The study also explained that since Iran considers missiles to be a strategic necessity due to the limitations of its air force. "Therefore, lacking a modern air force necessitated Tehran to embrace ballistic missiles as a long-range strike capability to dissuade its adversaries in the region – particularly the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia – from attacking Iran," the report said.

Source

Return to US, Iran nuclear deal will happen regardless says Ex-Mossad chief

Rouhani-Biden

An Israeli who is a former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo said on Wednesday that the US and Iran will likely return to a nuclear deal regardless of the current Israeli government's opposition, Jerusalem Post reported.

According to the report, speaking at a joint Commanders for Israel's Security and Haaretz conference, when asked if there would be a deal, Pardo said, "it is very hard to know for sure. I assume yes and the question is when, and how many variations will it undergo until we get there."

The former Mossad director also said that "I assume Israel will act like it should... [according to] its size... it can get to cooperative levels with" the US, but added that Jerusalem should not play games with the larger powers, given that it "has capabilities, but [they are] the capabilities of a small state – and at the end... it needs to recognize its place."

Without mentioning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by name, but clearly referring to him, he warned that if Israeli leaders yell at the world that they will act on their own against everyone, then Israel will not get anywhere in terms of influencing developments.

Regarding Israeli threats to attack Iran’s nuclear program he said, “because everyone understands that blowing up one nuclear site will not end this situation, anyone attempting to handle this along the same lines as the Iraqi nuclear reactor [which Israel attacked in 1981] or the Syrian nuclear reactor [which Israel attacked in 2007] is dreaming and lacks a minimal understanding of the capabilities of who we are confronting, and their ability to deal with a situation like this."

Moreover, Pardo said that after the US-Iraq 2003 war that America heavily leans more toward diplomacy and has a much stronger aversion to using force globally, saying the US “is not structured for using extensive force.”

Again he emphasized the need for Israel to dovetail its public actions with the US, given that Washington provides Israel much of its advanced weaponry.

Former Netanyahu national security council chief Jacob Nagel took issue with Pardo's statements, saying that regarding "returning to the old deal, I am concerned that we are non-stop galloping toward it... this will be a disaster if it happens.

"If I estimate who could thwart this, it would be the Iranians. If I estimate who is pushing to make this happen with all of their energy, it would be some Israelis – not those in official positions – and obviously the new US government," he said.

"If there is a deal, it will be the last" and will lead to great harm, Nagel said.

The former national security council chief also warned that if the US returns to the nuclear deal “there won’t be any motivation for the US” to snap back sanctions if Iran violates the deal.

In addition, he said, “I would rather that if they are going to race to a nuclear weapon, that it be now and not in 6 more years. I would rather that if there is going to be a conflict,” it be sooner, implying there were advantages to confronting Tehran while it is weakened by sanctions and while the world is more concerned with its nuclear violations.

Staking out a middle, more analytical path, former Mossad Iran desk chief Sima Shine said, "I think both sides are interested in getting to an agreement. Since they are interested, it seems they will get there. But there are quite a few obstacles along the road... but in the end, they both want to get a deal."

Shine also confirmed the likelihood of an interim partial deal of "less for less" – partial reduction of US sanctions for partial reduction of Iranian nuclear violations.

But she said that despite any possible interim deal, the end point would be full removal of sanctions for a full return to nuclear limitations. 

However, later Shine and Nagel fought over whether the US could be convinced to accept Israel’s maximal positions on the Islamic Republic or whether that was unrealistic.

Shine said she had heard from US contacts that Washington would not give Iran more than 12-18 months to agree to a longer and stronger improved nuclear deal before snapping back sanctions – which Nagel expressed doubts about. 

Iran has repeatedly said US can not be trusted following the Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal of America from the deal.