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Israel-US Talks to Begin as Iran’s Nuclear Program Approaches the ‘Red Line’

Missile defenses during a military exercise at an undisclosed location in Iran on February 28 (Reuters)
Missile defenses during a military exercise at an undisclosed location in Iran on February 28 (Reuters)
    London – Tel Aviv – Asharq Al-Awsat
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Israel-US Talks to Begin as Iran’s Nuclear Program Approaches the ‘Red Line’

Missile defenses during a military exercise at an undisclosed location in Iran on February 28 (Reuters)
Missile defenses during a military exercise at an undisclosed location in Iran on February 28 (Reuters)

Tel Aviv and Washington have decided to kickstart deep talks on Iran’s enrichment of uranium to 84%, which is close to what is needed for developing a bomb. A senior delegation from the Israeli government will travel to the US capital next week to meet with officials from the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department.

The Israeli delegation will include Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Council chief Tzachi Hanegbi.

Dermer and Hanegbi are expected to meet with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, political sources reported.

According to the Tel Aviv-based Walla! News, the visit will precede a visit by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Israel next week to continue such talks.

Austin will arrive in Tel Aviv at the end of next week. He is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and President Isaac Herzog.

The meetings will cover various major issues, including cooperation, regional developments, and the situation in the Palestinian arena, but the central issue will be Iran’s nuclear program, reported Walla! News.

A probe by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), into Iran’s nuclear activities found particles of 83.7%-enriched uranium, the highest level of enrichment ever achieved by the cleric-led country.

The IAEA said that it will be discussing the enriched uranium with Tehran.

Netanyahu spoke with several state leaders and stressed that Israel considers Iran enriching uranium to 90% a red line.

The prime minister and other Israeli officials have stressed in recent weeks that presenting a credible military threat is necessary to stop Iran from threatening regional and global security.

For his part, US Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl said Tuesday that Tehran can enrich a sufficient amount of uranium in 12 days to a level of 90 % – the level of enrichment needed to produce a crude nuclear weapon.

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Qalibaf: Any Aggression Against Iran Would Cause Regional Explosion

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf (Iranian Parliament)
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf (Iranian Parliament)
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Qalibaf: Any Aggression Against Iran Would Cause Regional Explosion

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf (Iranian Parliament)
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf (Iranian Parliament)

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned on Tuesday that any Israeli attack against his country “means igniting a powder keg that will explode the entire region.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday repeated calls for Iran's entire nuclear infrastructure to be dismantled, as Washington and Tehran engage in talks for a nuclear accord.

Netanyahu said that he had told US President Donald Trump that any nuclear agreement reached with Iran should also prevent Tehran from developing ballistic missiles.

Speaking at an open parliamentary session in Tehran, Qalibaf said, “We consider these positions to be merely worthless rhetoric to influence the process of Iran-US indirect negotiations, and we do not take it (the rhetoric) seriously.”

However, he added, the Zionist regime will not engage in any act of adventurism or foolishness without the permission of the United States.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Netanyahu was “dictating what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran.”

“Israel’s fantasy that it can dictate what Iran may or may not do is so detached from reality that it hardly merits a response,” Araghchi said.

His remarks came two days after Iranian and US delegations met in Oman for a third round of high-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, with both sides reporting progress.

Netanyahu said the only “good deal” between the US and Iran would be one that removed “all of the infrastructure” akin to the 2003 agreement that Libya made with the West that saw it give up its nuclear, chemical, biological and missile programs.

Meanwhile, France said it will not think twice about reimposing United Nations sanctions on Iran if negotiations to reach a deal over its nuclear program do not succeed, its foreign minister told the UN Security Council late on Monday.

France, Britain and Germany - the “E3” - are parties to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that expires in October and have the power to initiate its mechanism for reimposing sanctions, called snapback, at the Security Council.

“It goes without saying that when the Iranian nuclear deal expires in a few weeks, if European security interests are not guaranteed, we will not hesitate for a single second to reapply all the sanctions that were lifted 10 years ago,” Jean-Noel Barrot said.

“These sanctions would then permanently close off Iranian access to technology, investment, and the European market, with devastating effects on the country's economy. This is not what we want, and that is why I solemnly call on Iran to take the necessary decisions today to avoid the worst,” Barrot added.

Speaking alongside Barrot, IAEA Director Rafael Grossi stressed that an agreement with Iran was crucial.

“There is a very important effort between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. I'm in constant contact with Ambassador Witkoff, of course, at the same time consulting with Foreign Minister Araghchi in order to provide the technical support and capabilities and monitoring potential that the IAEA should be able to exercise,” he said.

Later on X, Grossi wrote that “Iran’s expanding nuclear program remains a serious issue.”

He said, “To be noted are the intense diplomatic efforts and meetings between the US and Iran over the past few weeks; these are important. I am engaging closely and actively with both sides and am encouraged by their commitment.”