Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top military officials have held a series of high-level secret meetings in recent weeks to prepare for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear program, according to reports.
Five meetings have been held between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Mossad head David Barnea, Military Intelligence chief Aharon Haliva and other military brass, reports The Times of Israel, quoting local Channel 12, which did not attribute its information to any source.
The report did not include further details about the meetings, and The Times said it may also have been released to reveal the seriousness of Israel's intentions to use military action to stop Iran's suspected moves toward obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The results of the meetings, including that Israel will act alone if necessary if the international community doesn't respond, were shared with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and French President Emmanuel Macron, the report indicated.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu stressed that the international community must fill its promises to use military action to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions, telling a national security conference that the "only thing that has ever stopped rogue nations from developing nuclear weapons is a credible military threat or a credible military action."
"A necessary condition and often a sufficient condition is credible military action," he added, "The longer you wait, the harder that becomes. We’ve waited very long.”
On Sunday, the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency said it is in discussions with Iran after reports that the country is enriching uranium to 84%, just a few steps away from a 90% enrichment level that is needed to produce weapons-grade material needed for a bomb.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesperson for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, denied the reports about the advanced enrichment, saying that "we have not made any attempt to enrich above 60%. The presence of particles above 60% enrichment does not mean production with an enrichment above 60%."
Gallant on Tuesday said Israel will not let Iran cross a "red line" of enriching uranium to the weapons-grade level.
"Israel is dealing with Syria, Hezbollah, Iran, and Palestinian terror in a multi-front arena. The Iranian threat needs to be returned to the top of the global priority list," Gallant said during a conference in Jerusalem.
"Iran is closer than ever to producing a nuclear weapon and has almost reached the red line. "We will not allow that to happen — all the options are on the table. Our duty is to defend the State of Israel and the Jewish people."
Netanyahu warned that the Hezbollah terror group, as well as Gaza’s Hamas, should not mistake any domestic political instability in Israel for military weakness, warning that Israel's military forces will respond "disproportionately" if there are provocations from either group.
Israel has come close to carrying out strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities before, when Netanyahu was prime minister, according to former prime minister and defense minister Ehud Barak, who said Netanyahu pulled back plans in 2010 and 2011 for strikes on Iran after ministerial colleagues and the then-Israel Defense Forces chief of staff convinced him to back away.
Another strike was planned in 2012, according to Barack, but was called off because Israel and the United States were holding military exercises and Netanyahu did not want to draw the U.S. into war.
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