Israel wary as Russia-Iran ties deepen, possibly involving nuclear program
Israel is closely following contacts between senior Iranian and Russian officials amid fears that in exchange for Iran's extensive assistance to Russia's war effort in Ukraine, Moscow will provide Iran with the technology to turn the enriched uranium into a nuclear warhead.
TEL AVIV — Israel is increasingly concerned about the rapidly tightening cooperation that could lead to Russia providing Iran the technology it needs to build a nuclear bomb.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to visit Moscow on Jan. 17, three days before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, to sign a broad strategic agreement.
Iran nuclear program progresses
"This all has to do with the nuclear issue," a senior Israeli security source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. "It's no secret that Iran has already crossed the line in terms of uranium enrichment. They can decide at any given moment that they are scaling up from 60% enriched uranium to military-grade uranium [90% enriched], an easy hurdle that Iran has no problem overcoming. It's just a matter of decision." What Iran’s nuclear program is still missing, he said, is the ability to build the bomb itself and mount it on a missile.
