ISRAEL will do “whatever it takes” to stop Iran’s nuclear strength, an ex-military intelligence agent has warned.
Sources in Tel Aviv say Israel is poised to blitz Iran within weeks in a coordinated effort with the US if Tehran fails to thrash out a nuke deal.
Dr. Raz Zimmt, who specialized in Iran during his time in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), emphasized that effectively reducing Tehran’s nuclear capabilities would be a complex and lengthy process, requiring more than just a single strike.
It is expected that Iran would retaliate against Israel, similar to its response in April when it launched a significant attack involving missiles and drones following the deaths of several officers in an assault on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.
An Iron Dome operator in Israel’s north told The Sun they do not fear a bombardment from Iran as they are “200 per cent prepared”.
“We have dealt with attacks from Iran before. We know how to deal with it again,” Technical Sergeant (Tsgt) Y said.
Last week, top political and military sources in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv told The Sun that Israel’s top brass is preparing to blitz Iran.
They said its nuclear programme should have been “dealt with a long time ago”.
And Dr Zimmt, now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, has warned the “next two or three months are crucial”.
Angered by the situation, President Donald Trump issued a two-month ultimatum to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to come to an agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear program, warning of potential bombing if no resolution was reached.
This week the US president insisted: “If it requires military, we’re going to have military.”
And while nuke talks yesterday were described by the Iranians as “positive” the spectre of war looms large across the Middle East.
Dr Zimmt said it is likely Israel and the US will consider blitzing Iran within weeks.
He told The Sun: “We are at the closest point of reaching the possibility of either Israeli or an American attack against Iran.
“If there is no understanding or certainly agreement between the two sides by late June, July, I think that the prospects for military confrontation will be very high.
“What’s going to happen in the next few weeks and months, mostly between Iran and the US, will certainly have a major impact on the trajectory and decision whether we are going to face a military strike.”
The aim of any strikes on Iran would be to severely diminish the progress its regime has made in its nuclear capabilities.
Senior diplomatic sources told The Sun Iran is “much closer than anyone can be comfortable with” in developing nukes.
They claimed Tehran will be in a position to enrich enough Uranium 233 to produce several fission weapons by the end of the month.
But Iran’s progress has become more and more cloak and dagger in recent years, with it limiting inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
It does not have knowledge of “essential elements of Iran’s programme”, Iran Watch warned.
Tehran developing nuclear weapons could have potentially devastating consequences for the Middle East – and beyond.
Dr Zimmt warned: “Israel will have to do whatever it needs to do to make sure Iran doesn’t require a nuclear weapon.”
But he conceded it would now be highly unlikely the US and Israel could ever fully eliminate Iran’s nuclear programme.
“It’s too scattered, the knowledge and technology are already inside Iran,” Dr Zimmt said.
“Several years ago the assessments were that Israel has the capability to delay Iran’s nuclear programme by between one and two years.”
The Sun previously revealed how Iran’s tyrannical regime has been secretly building nuclear warheads for missiles that can fire more than 3,000km.
Satellite pictures uncovered three sites that Iran’s leaders claimed were being used as part of a space initiative.
Iran’s missile barrage on Israel
IRAN launched an unprecented first direct attack on Israeli territory one year ago in a huge escalation on tensions.
More than 300 explosive drones and missiles were fired at Israel as aerial interceptors attempted to fend off the relentless incoming threats.
Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Iran launched dozens of ground-to-ground missiles at Israel, most of them intercepted outside Israeli borders.
They included more than 10 cruise missiles, he said.
Iran had vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two senior commanders.
Several countries in the Middle East were forced to close their airspaces for hours before Iran’s assault.
Around 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles were blasted towards Israel and Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,
The IDF utilised Arrow 3 and David’s Sling systems to shoot down many of them.
Dr Zimmt said the only way Iran’s nuclear programme could ever be close to being wiped out would be through consistent strikes.
He added: “It’s very clear that even if there is a successful airstrike either by Israel or the US it won’t be possible to eliminate 100 per cent of their nuclear capabilities and facilities and fissile material in just one or even several attacks.
“It will probably require the continuation of either military or other kinds of activities in order to make sure that Iran doesn’t have the capability to reconstitute its programme after such an attack.”
It comes as Trump said this week Israel would be the “leader” of a potential strike against Iran.
He made the comments ahead of this weekend’s scheduled talks involving US and Iranian officials in the Middle East sultanate of Oman.
The president said: “If it requires military, we’re going to have military.
“Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They’ll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us, but we do what we want to do.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week said he supports Trump’s diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement with Iran.
But he warned: “Whatever happens, we have to make sure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons.”
Iran’s accelerates nuclear development
Exclusive by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital)
IRAN is believed to have accelerated its nuclear weapons development and is building terrifying nuclear warheads for solid-fuel missiles with a range exceeding 1,800 miles (3,000km).
A powerful blast from Iran could impact on several continents due to the chilling capability of the warheads.
Italy, Ukraine, Sudan, India and even large swaths of Russia would all potentially be in the firing line.
They are being developed at two sites in Shahrud and Semnan, which were previously pinned as rocket or space satellite launch sites.
A third site, Sorkheh Hesar, is also said to be carrying out projects, including research on nuclear power and underground explosions.
Nukes are being quickly created under the watchful eye of the regime’s nuclear weaponization entity, the Organization for Advanced Defense Research (SPND).
Bosses are developing nuclear warheads for the solid-fuel Ghaem-100 missiles, which are equipped with mobile launch platforms at the Shahrud site.
Iran’s rocket designers have used North Korea’s missiles as a guide to develop the Ghaem-100 missile.
When the missile was in a very early testing stage in 2011, dozens of missile experts were killed at the Modarres site in Tehran.
Personnel vehicles are banned from entering the Shahrud site and are forced to park at a checkpoint before people are transported in.
Meanwhile, they are using the liquid fuel missile Simorgh to develop nuclear warheads in Semnan.
Iran has staged three successful Ghaem-100 missile launches over the past two years, enhancing the regime’s capability to deploy nuclear weapons.
