Israel claims to have delayed atomic bomb development for Iran

Israel said on Saturday (21) that delayed “in at least two or three years” the development of an atomic bomb for Iran, while Tehran ruled out a resumption of negotiations with the United States about the nuclear program before the end of the Israeli offensive. The attack launched on June 13 had “very significant,” Israel’s chancellor Gideon Sa’ar told the German newspaper Bild. “We have already delayed in at least two or three years the possibility that they have a nuclear bomb (…) we will not stop until we do everything possible to eliminate this threat.”

Israel began on June 13 a campaign of air attacks against the Iranclaiming that Tehran was about to get a nuclear weapon. The Iranians, who deny this accusation, responded with missile and drone releases. The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA), Rafael Grossi, said that his agency’s last report contains no indication that Iran is currently developing an atomic weapon.

In recent weeks, American and Iranian negotiators have held several rounds of conversations for a new agreement about the Iranian nuclear program. The last pact, signed in 2015, was obsolete after the Unilateral exit from the United States in 2018 during Trump’s first term. But negotiations between Tehran and Washington for a new agreement were interrupted with the beginning of Israeli bombings. The previous pact sought to guarantee the civil nature of the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for the gradual survey of economic sanctions.

Diplomatic efforts

After more than a week of conflict, championships from European countries sought a diplomatic solution on Friday during a meeting in Geneva with their Iranian pair. “Iran is willing to reconsider diplomacy as soon as the aggression ceases,” said Iran’s Foreign Affairs Minister Araqchi. European diplomatic leaders asked Araqchi to proceed with negotiations “without waiting for the end of the conflict.” France Chancellor Jean-Noël Barrot warned that there can be no “definitive military solution to the nuclear problem of Iran.”

On the eighth day of war, the alert sirens were fired on Friday in southern Israel after further Iranian missile shots. In the north, the Rambam de Haifa Hospital reported having attended 19 injured, one of them in serious condition. The Israeli army bombarded missile launchers in southwestern Iran. Attacks were also reported in Tehran. “We launched the most complex campaign in our history. We have to be prepared for a prolonged campaign,” warned Israel’s commander of the Staff, Eyal Zamirdijo.

This Saturday, the Israeli Army announced that it had carried out air attacks “against storage and missile launch infrastructures in downtown Iran.” The Guardians of the Iranian ideological army claimed the authorship of attacks on “military centers, defense industries, command and control centers” and Israeli military bases. A Haifa Hospital, Israel, reported 19 people injured by these missiles.

In Tehran, thousands of people took to the streets on Friday in support of their leaders and against Israel and the United States, whose flags were burned. Trade did not open its doors in Tehran, except for some bakeries and food stores. “I’m not afraid of war. I’m still open, but the business is really bad,” an AFP told a merchant, who didn’t want to be identified.

*With information from AFP