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)
TT

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.



Pope Leo Appeals for Israel to Allow Humanitarian Aid in Gaza 

Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd at the end of his first weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in The Vatican on May 21, 2025. (AFP)
Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd at the end of his first weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in The Vatican on May 21, 2025. (AFP)
TT

Pope Leo Appeals for Israel to Allow Humanitarian Aid in Gaza 

Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd at the end of his first weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in The Vatican on May 21, 2025. (AFP)
Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd at the end of his first weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in The Vatican on May 21, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appealed for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, calling the situation in the Palestinian enclave "yet more worrying and saddening".

"I renew my fervent appeal to allow for the entry of fair humanitarian help and to bring to an end the hostilities, the devastating price of which is paid by children, the elderly and the sick," the pope said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected the leader of the Catholic Church on May 8 to succeed the late Pope Francis. He has mentioned the situation in Gaza several times in the first weeks of his papacy.

In his first Sunday message on May 11, the new pope called for an immediate ceasefire and for the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Israel said on Monday that it would allow aid to enter Gaza after an 11-week blockade on the enclave, but the United Nations said no help had been distributed as of Tuesday.

Leo's appeal comes a day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his government had paused free trade talks with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador to the UK over the situation in Gaza.

Israel says it plans to intensify military operations against Hamas and to control the whole of Gaza, which has been devastated by an Israeli air and ground war since Hamas' cross-border attack on Israeli communities in October 2023.

Israel has said its blockade is aimed in part at preventing Palestinian gunmen from diverting and seizing aid supplies. Hamas has denied doing so.