Israel's IDF training ‘intensely’ to strike Iranian nuclear facilities: Report

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been undergoing intense military training for a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Israeli television Channel 12 reported Thursday. This comes after in April, this year, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen had warned in a statement to the press that a “bad” Iran nuclear deal negotiated between the United States and Iran “will send the region spiralling into war.” Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi has now ordered to set aside an additional defense budget for war readiness and military exercises.

“Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear arms. Iran has no immunity anywhere. Our planes can reach everywhere in the Middle East – and certainly Iran,” Cohen had said earlier, in clear warnings to the Islamic Republic. 

[Israel Air Force's F-15 fighter jets of the twin tale 133 squadron fly above Ovda Air Base. Image: AP]

Israel Air Force 'simulating' airstrikes on Iran 

Israel Air Force has been simulating airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Channel 12 reported, although no official source was cited. It also remains unclear if the military drills were undertaken, were simulated, or being rehearsed. The state television network claimed that Naftali Bennet’s administration has allocated close to $1.5 billion, or NIS 5 billion, with additional funding of $620 million [NIS 2 billion] in the 2022 defense budget for striking Iran. Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz, meanwhile, also told the Hebrew press that Tel Aviv ramped up the military budget in order to conduct the possible air raids on Iranian nuclear sites. Kohvi labelled the funding as essential for the Israeli military’s “operational plans” against the Islamic Republic. 

Israel is currently hosting Blue Flag 2021 military exercise with Germany, Italy, Britain, France, India, Greece, and the US Air Force. 

Head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, had earlier warned, that Iran has commenced enriching the uranium at purity levels that “only countries making bombs are reaching”. The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, in a statement termed the situation as “very concerning,” adding that Iran was enriching the uranium to a degree that “requires a vigilant eye.” A country enriching at 60 percent " is a serious thing," IAEA director-general said. He warned that 60% was almost "weapons-grade" as the commercial enrichment was approximately two or three percent. 

In the aftermath of the electrical grid compromise earlier this year at the Natanz atomic site, which Iran’s Hassan Rouhani called an act of ‘nuclear terrorism,’ Iran, meanwhile, swore to install another 1,000 centrifuges with 50 percent more capacity to the enrichment machines, in addition to replacing the damaged ones. The Islamic Republic blamed Israel’s spy agency Mossad for launching an attack on the key facility in Isfahan Province. 

[In this image, made from video released by the state-run TV station Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting, various centrifuge machines line a hall at the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility. Image: IRIB via AP]

Iran’s nuclear program 'has hit a watershed moment', says Israel PM 

Tel-Aviv has been extremely critical about the US-negotiated JCPOA arrangement with Iran. The then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had strongly backed former-US President Donald Trump's unilateral decision of secretly circumventing the deal alleging that Iran had failed to adhere to the terms listed in the contract and has been stockpiling nuclear weaponry. 

At the 76th United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stressed that Iran’s nuclear program "has hit a watershed moment, and so has our [Israel's] tolerance." “Words do not stop centrifuges from spinning," the Israeli leader said. Iran's great goal is crystal clear to anybody who cares to open their eyes: Iran seeks to dominate the region — and seeks to do so under a nuclear umbrella," Bennett said. Calling Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, the “butcher of Tehran," Bennett said that Israel is a 'lighthouse in a stormy sea' of the volatile Mideast, as he warned the world about the threat of terrorism emerging out of the country. 

Image: AP/Twitter/@IDF