The Iranians' remarks were made against the background of reports of contacts between Israel and Arab countries for cooperation in the field of air defense. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi participated in a secret discussion with his Saudi counterpart at a meeting attended by senior representatives of the IDF and the armed forces of various Arab states.
Ynet reports that the participants agreed in principle on a plan to share air defense alerts through a variety of media. The agreement remains theoretical for the time being, pending the approval of the political echelons of both sides.
A new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revealed that Iran is increasing the rate of its uranium enrichment with the help of advanced machines installed in an underground complex. According to Reuters, Western diplomats have already been warned that these machines will allow Iran to construct a nuclear warhead faster than before.
According to sources at the UN nuclear agency, the Iranians on Tuesday announced the flow of fluoride uranium gas to centrifuges with the aim of enriching to a level of 5%. Reuters also noted that on June 20, the IAEA also warned that Iran had begun using the advanced components months after updating it.
Iran is obliged to notify the agency of such a change in its nuclear facilities, and in case it chooses to hide the information, IAEA inspectors take time to update and approve its actions.
According to the latest report, the IAEA has confirmed that Iran is enriching uranium to 5% in 166 IR-6 centrifuges with the stated goal being to reach 20%. According to the West, Iran is already enriching uranium to 60% in other facilities.
This quantity well exceeds the amount permitted to Iran, although it is far short of the 90% enrichment needed to construct a nuclear weapon.
Ynet commentator Ron Ben-Yishai noted that Biden's secondary goal in his upcoming visit to Israel is to achieve stability so that the United States does not have to deal with or be dragged into clashes between its partners in the Middle East and Iran and its emissaries - an eventuality that a joint air defense pact makes decidedly more realistic.
