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How Will Israel and the U.S. Deal with Iran's Nuclear Program?
(Ha'aretz) Yossi Melman - Israel is trying to formulate several alternatives that could distance Iran from its aspiration of becoming a nuclear threshold state. For Israel, it is almost a certainty that Iran is planning to reach that threshold, which would enable it to assemble nuclear weapons within a short time. Iran is currently enriching uranium to 60%, but has the knowledge and technology to enrich to 93%, the level required to produce fissionable material for military purposes. It must still obtain the knowledge and technology for weaponization - to develop capabilities related to the chain of explosion, to assemble the bomb on a missile, and to miniaturize the warhead. Iran will take at least two years to reach this. With or without a nuclear agreement, Israeli intelligence must play a central role in monitoring the Iranian nuclear program. Its goal is to prevent Iran from reaching the nuclear threshold. Britain's MI6 and the CIA have so far demonstrated very impressive knowledge and capabilities on this issue.