The most dramatic and acute issue that Israel's future government would have to deal with — Iran's progressing nuclear program — has surprisingly disappeared from the agenda of the Israeli election campaign. There is hardly any authoritative opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on national security matters. Most candidates lack the experience and the confidence to confront Netanyahu on the question of Iran, apart from Kadima's Shaul Mofaz; but with his poor performance in the polls, he is largely ignored by the media.
Yet, the question of how to deal with Iran has not disappeared, nor diminished. It was only deferred. The centrifuges in Natanz and Fordow continue to spin, producing 8 kg of low-enriched uranium per day and a monthly average of 14 kg of uranium enriched to the 20% level. Amassing some 150 kg of 20% uranium so far, Iran is moving steadily to meet 250 kg of 20% uranium, the red line of set by Netanyahu at the UN in his speech on Sept. 27. If Iran will not once again divert part of that material for other uses, by March it will cross Netanyahu's red line, forcing him to consider his pledge to stop Iran forcefully.
