LONDON: Israel has warned that Iran could acquire material to build nuclear warheads in “about 10 weeks” as the Islamic Republic swore in its new hardline President Ebrahim Raisi.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said his government is prepared for an escalation in tensions with Tehran following a series of incidents in the Gulf of Oman, including two attacks on Israeli-linked ships in the space of a week.
The attacks came after a series of suspected sabotages of Iranian facilities linked to its civilian nuclear program, which Israel has long claimed is a front for developing nuclear weapons.
A prominent Iranian scientist thought to have been a key figure in the program was also assassinated in November 2020. Mossad, the Israeli state spy agency, is thought to have been behind the raids.
Talks are underway in Vienna to resurrect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, from which the US withdrew in 2018. Israel staunchly opposes the deal.
“The Iranian regime is threatening us and sparking a regional arms race,” Gantz said at a meeting of ambassadors from members of the UN Security Council.
“Iran has violated all of the guidelines set in the JCPOA, and is only around 10 weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade materials necessary for a nuclear weapon,” he added.
“Now is the time for deeds — words are not enough. It is time for diplomatic, economic, and even military deeds, otherwise the attacks will continue.”
Raisi told Iran’s Majlis (Parliament) that the nuclear program is “completely peaceful.” In reference to the JCPOA, he said he would “support any diplomatic plan” that leads to the easing of sanctions on Iran.
