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Israeli Military Carries Out Drills Simulating Iranian Terrains

An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)
An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)
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Israeli Military Carries Out Drills Simulating Iranian Terrains

An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)
An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz made a surprise visit to troops carrying out war exercises in northern Israel, which included a landing operation in a mountainous area similar to the topography of Iranian mountains.

Some 3,000 soldiers from the Golani Brigade, armored units, artillery, and reservist brigades participated in the drill.

"No matter what happens between Iran and the world powers — and we are certainly concerned about the fact that there is insufficient severity in dealing with Iranian violations — Israel will protect itself with its forces," Bennett said ahead of the resumption of the nuclear talks in Vienna.

“The world needs to act against Iran, and Israel is prepared to do what is needed on all of these fronts and the northern front in particular,” Gantz said after visiting the forces.

Later, Bennett's office issued a statement saying the Prime Minister assessed the situation with Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Aviv Kochavi.

US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley met with Israeli officials, including alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

Malley aims to coordinate with Mideast allies before Washington resumes the indirect talks with Tehran to revive the nuclear deal in Vienna.

Sources close to Lapid said the FM told Malley that Iran has no intention of returning to the deal.

Lapid believes Tehran is simply trying to buy time through negotiations over its nuclear program until the issue of rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal is no longer relevant.

The sources confirmed that Lapid raised Israel's technical intelligence concerns about returning to the agreement and lifting sanctions.

An official from Bennett's office said Israeli officials fear that the different positions between the former and the current US administration will increase Iran's intransigence and perhaps manipulation until Tehran becomes a "nuclear threshold state."

Israeli leaders discussed with Malley the military option as a serious and essential alternative.

The former head of Israeli military intelligence research, Brigadier General Yossi Kuperwasser, said the US is sending messages that it is not interested in war and Israel is not behaving as if it wants war with Iran. He indicated Tehran might increase its provocations.

Kuperwasser believed Iran is a few weeks away from producing military-enriched uranium for the first explosive device and has started producing metallic uranium, which can be interpreted as having intentions to produce nuclear weapons.

Israel is not ready to act against Iran because it does not have US support or the operational capabilities, the official believes.

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China Has Expanded its Nuclear Force, Strengthened Ties to Russia, the Pentagon Says

An American flag is flown next to the Chinese national emblem outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Nov. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
An American flag is flown next to the Chinese national emblem outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Nov. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
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China Has Expanded its Nuclear Force, Strengthened Ties to Russia, the Pentagon Says

An American flag is flown next to the Chinese national emblem outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Nov. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
An American flag is flown next to the Chinese national emblem outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Nov. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

China is expanding its nuclear force, has increased military pressure against Taiwan and has strengthened its ties with Russia over the past year, according to a Pentagon report Wednesday that details actions accelerating key areas of conflict with the United States.

The report, however, also notes that the recent rash of corruption allegations within China's powerful Central Military Commission, which oversees the People’s Liberation Army, is hurting Beijing’s military growth and could slow its campaign to modernize.

The impact, said a senior defense official, is a bit of a mixed bag because while there has been progress in some programs, China has slid back in others.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the US assessment, warned that Beijing is working toward developing a more diverse and technologically sophisticated nuclear force. While the expected number of nuclear warheads has maintained consistent growth, China is broadening its targeting abilities, The AP reported.

Beijing is going to be able to go after more and different types of targets, do greater damage and have more options for multiple rounds of counterstrikes, the official said. The US is urging China to be more transparent about its nuclear program, while also warning that America will defend its allies and take appropriate steps in response.

According to the report, which provides the annual US assessment of China’s military power and is required by Congress, China had more than 600 operational nuclear warheads as of May, and the US expects it will have more than 1,000 by 2030.

The Biden administration has worked to maintain a balance with China, building up the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region to be ready to counter Beijing while also encouraging increased communications between the two countries at the diplomatic and military levels.

That uptick in talks has coincided with a decrease in coercive and risky intercepts of US aircraft since late 2023, compared with the previous two years. China still, however, does what the US military considers “unsafe” flights near American and allied forces in the region.

The Pentagon’s national defense strategy is built around China being the greatest security challenge for the US, and the threat from Beijing influences how the US military is equipped and organized for the future.

The corruption within the PLA has resulted in at least 15 high-ranking officials being ousted in a major shakeup of China’s defense establishment.

“This wave of corruption touches every service in the PLA, and it may have shaken Beijing’s confidence," the report said.

In June, China announced that former Defense Minister Li Shangfu and his predecessor, Wei Fenghe, were expelled from the ruling Communist Party and accused of corruption. Last month, another senior official, Miao Hua, was suspended and put under investigation, according to China's Defense Ministry.

The US report points to a persistent increased military presence by China around Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as its own. It said China's navy has been in the region more and that there have been increased crossings into the island's air defense identification zone and major military exercises in the area.

Just last week, a large deployment of Chinese navy and coast guard vessels in the waters around Taiwan triggered alarm as Taiwanese officials said it looked like China was simulating a blockade. Officials have said there were as many as 90 ships involved in what Taiwan described as two walls designed to demonstrate that the waters belong to China.

Taiwan split from communist China in 1949 and has rejected Beijing’s demands that it accept unification. China says it will do so by force if necessary, and leaders have said they want to be ready to do so by 2027.

The United States is obligated under domestic law to help defend Taiwan and give it weapons and technology to deter invasion.

The island democracy has been the chief source of tension between Washington and Beijing for decades and is widely seen as the most likely trigger for a potentially catastrophic US-China war.

More broadly, the report concluded that the PLA continued its drive to develop greater military capabilities but “made uneven progress toward its 2027” milestone for modernization.

One area of expansion, the report said, is with unmanned aerial systems, which officials said are “quickly approaching US standards.”

Regarding Russia, the report said China has supported Russia's war against Ukraine and sold Russia dual-use items that Moscow's military industry relies on. Dual use items can be used for both civilian and military purposes.