Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned Tuesday morning that Tehran is just weeks away from being able to produce sufficient fissile material necessary for a nuclear weapon.
Speaking at the 'A New Global Order' conference being held at Reichman University in Herzliya a day before his trip to Washington, Gantz said Iran’s nuclear program is making significant progress both qualitatively and quantitatively.
"Iran continues to accumulate irreversible knowledge and experience in the development, research, production and operation of advanced centrifuges. It stands just a few weeks away from accumulating fissile material that will be sufficient for a first bomb, holds 60 kilograms of enriched material at 60%, produces metallic uranium at the enrichment level of 20% and prevents the IAEA from accessing its facilities."
"Even today, Iran is making an effort to complete the production and installation of 1,000 advanced IR6 centrifuges at its nuclear facilities, including a new facility being built at an underground site near Natanz.""Even now, Iran is working to complete the manufacture and installation of 1,000 new advanced IR6 centrifuges at its nuclear facilities, including at its new underground facility near Natanz."
On the issue of Iranian aggression in the region, Minister Gantz revealed Iran’s efforts to spread weapons to its proxies across the region and referred to recent publications regarding the launch of two UAVs in February this year.
"Iranian proxies are attacking oil reserves, airports and civilian facilities. Iran itself is conducting attacks via its Quds Force. It is developing operational systems throughout the region, equipped with accurate capabilities including cruise missiles, surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs, capable of reaching thousands of kilometers. The quantity of strategic weapons in the hands of Iranian proxies has increased significantly in the last year: in Iraq there are hundreds of weapons, in Yemen the number has also increased and the Houthis hold dozens of weapons.”
“We saw one example of the attempted use of Iranian weapons in February 2022. As has happened several times in the past, the Revolutionary Guards launched a pair of drones from Iranian territory, towards Israel. Among other things, based on the fact that the UAVs had parachutes attached, we estimate that the purpose of the launch was to deliver weapons to terrorist organizations in Gaza or in Judea and Samaria. The mission failed, and the UAVs were intercepted in Iraq. In Syria, too, attempts continue to be made to transfer and produce accurate weapons. Israel will continue to thwart these efforts and face any threat to its citizens and the region."
“One of the lessons of the war in Ukraine is that it is right to exercise economic, political and, if necessary, military force as early as possible, and perhaps in this way to prevent wars. The same is true of the situation we are in with Iran. The price of a possible future war can be prevented or reduced by operating a multidimensional pressure campaign, led by the international community. Today, the prices for tackling the Iranian challenge on the global and regional levels re higher than they were a year ago and lower than they will be within a year.”
Regarding the wave of terrorism and the security situation in Israel, he said: "We are facing a wave of terror based on a series of attacks that take advantage of the sensitive situation in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, where Israel maintains freedom of worship. These attacks are connected to each other as they are based on incitement that is spread by terror organizations in the region. This incitement is not sufficiently condemned by world and regional leaders, who should also prioritize stability in the region.”
He added: "We will continue the political effort to strengthen our relations with our neighbors in the region and our partners around the world. This while being willing to make efforts to shrink the conflict and strive for political arrangements between us and the Palestinians, which, even if they seem distant, are a strategic need."