US, Israel mull drills to simulate attack on Iran
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Sulaiman
- . November 23, 2022
- . Update: November 24, 2022 1:29 am
According to US media on Tuesday, the US and Israel are thinking about conducting combined military exercises to mimic an attack on Iran and its Middle Eastern proxies.
According to Fox News Digital, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi are considering hosting an Air Force exercise to prepare soldiers for a potential battle with Iran and its proxies. This might take place in the upcoming weeks.
“It was acknowledged that we are at a critical juncture in time that necessitates the acceleration of operational plans and collaboration against Iran and its terrorist allies in the region,” Kochavi stated after their conversation with Milley.
He claimed that all operational strategies against the Iranian menace are supported by the Israeli Defense Forces. Iran continues to advance its nuclear programme while being under intense economic, military, and internal pressure.
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According to a readout of the meeting, the two military leaders at the Pentagon talked about “regional security issues, opportunities for greater bilateral cooperation and coordination to defend against a wide range of threats posed by Iran across the region and other items of mutual strategic interest.”
As important allies devoted to maintaining stability and security in the Middle East, the US and Israel continue to have a strong military partnership.
The underground Fordow nuclear complex has reportedly started to enrich uranium to a purity of 60%, according to Iranian media on Tuesday.
Iran is already enriching uranium elsewhere to a purity of 60 percent, which is higher than the 20 percent it produced prior to the 2015 agreement with major nations to curb enrichment at 3.67 percent but far short the 90 percent or so required for material suitable for use in bombs.
Under the Donald Trump administration, the US withdrew from the agreement that was designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Trump said that the lifting of the sanctions had allowed Iran to step up its Middle Eastern aggression, a claim that was supported by US partners in the area.
Iran is only permitted to employ IR-1 centrifuges under the agreement, but when the deal fell apart in 2018, Tehran erected cascades of IR-2m, IR-4, and IR-6 centrifuges that are more effective and modern.
In the meantime, US Navy investigators investigating into a previous week attack on an oil tanker connected to an Israeli millionaire came to the conclusion that the bombing was carried out by an Iranian drone.
Last Tuesday’s drone attack on the oil tanker Pacific Zircon, flying the flag of Liberia, off the coast of Oman, seems to be a part of the long-running shadow conflict between Israel and its arch-enemy Iran, which has also included the targeting of vessels with ties to Israel in vital Middle Eastern waterways.
