Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reestablished multiple working groups that focus on the Iranian nuclear threat two weeks ago, Axios reported Wednesday.
Three Israeli officials said that the decision was made in light of new intelligence that Iran is seeking to shorten the time it needs to build a nuclear weapon.
The working groups bring together Foreign Ministry, intelligence, and defense officials under the auspices of the National Security Council.
According to the officials, Israel is concerned that Iran will seek to take advantage of the transition period following the US presidential elections in November to advance its nuclear program.
On Tuesday, Axios’ Barak Ravid on reported that Israel and the US have agreed to reconvene a joint meeting on Iran in July that was canceled by the White House last week in the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s video in which he expressed astonishment over the Biden administration’s withholding weapons from Israel.
The US-Israel Strategic Consultative Group (SCG), which was formed in 2009 during the Obama administration, is a key forum for US-Israeli discussions about Iran's nuclear program.
The working group is headed by the national security advisers from Israel and the US, and includes representatives from national security, foreign policy and intelligence agencies in both countries.
The forum has not convened since March 2023. Since then, the Iranian nuclear program has significantly escalated, US and Israeli officials say.
Israel’s National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer were in Washington last week for a gathering of the forum, but the gathering was canceled by the White House, shortly before it was scheduled to take place, in the wake of Netanyahu’s video.
Hanegbi and Dermer instead met only with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.