Former senior Mossad official Haim Tomer discussed the Iranian nuclear threat in an interview with Radio 103FM on Friday morning, supporting former Mossad chief Dedi Barnea's warning but criticizing the United States' decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018.
Barnea warned on Thursday that as long as the current regime in Tehran remains in power, it will continue to pursue nuclear weapons. Tomer agreed with his assessment and pointed to recent statements by Iranian officials.
Tomer said, "Yesterday, as it happens, an Iranian official announced that factions within the regime are pushing to change Iran's nuclear policy and reverse the fatwa issued at the time by Ali Khamenei, which stated that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons under Islam."
He said the shift in Iranian rhetoric stems from pressure and threats directed at the regime, primarily by the United States. He stressed, "This is the first time senior Iranian officials are saying that nuclear weapons should be pursued."
Tomer said he did not consider this a surprising development. He said he had identified Iranian activity aimed at establishing the capability to develop nuclear weapons as early as 2002, years before the exposure of Iran's nuclear archive.
He claimed that groups working in this field have operated in Iran for years, changing their names and working in secret. He said the central question was therefore not whether Iran wants a military nuclear capability, but when it will decide to move to the practical stages of weapons development.
Tomer explained that a shift to producing uranium metal and conducting ballistic tests could indicate significant progress in the program. He noted that these technological activities require a demonstration of capability, and that some are difficult to conceal. He said, "Until now, it has been moving in small steps toward the threshold."
Asked whether he agreed with Barnea's assessment, he replied, "Is Dedi Barnea right in what he says? He is unequivocally right."
Later in the interview, Tomer raised the question of whether replacing the Iranian regime was the only way to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.
He said the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 demonstrated that international pressure could bring Iran to accept agreements limiting its nuclear activities. He said, "In 2015, it was proven that when countries put pressure on Iran, it signs an agreement. Between having no agreement and having an agreement, I favor an agreement. It allows for oversight."
Tomer also addressed US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreement in 2018, holding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the move.
He claimed, "There is a man named Benjamin Netanyahu, who was prime minister at the time, who, with the support of Israel's intelligence agencies, argued that the world had to be freed from the agreement so that Iran could be attacked militarily. He persuaded Trump."