Vivian Bercovici: Israel teeters on the brink of all-out war with Iran
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Nasirzadeh's threats were reinforced hours later by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who affirmed that Iran had no intention of acquiring a nuclear bomb. Yet in the next breath, he lashed out at any country that presumes to dictate what Iran may and may not do.
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And then there was the tone set out in a post on X by the Iranian mission to the United Nations: 'Threats of 'overwhelming force' (by the U.S.) won't change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and U.S. militarism only fuels instability.
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'CENTCOM's legacy of fueling regional instability, through arming aggressors and enabling Israeli crimes, strips it of any credibility to speak on peace or non-proliferation. Diplomacy—not militarism—is the only path forward.'
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By Thursday, there was a tsunami of speculation within Israel as to what it all means. It is widely believed that Iran has enough uranium enriched to near-weapon grade to produce an atomic bomb at the time of its choosing.
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Both the United States and Israel are in absolute agreement that a nuclear-armed Iran is not something that either country can abide. The Iranian regime is fervently anti-Zionist and has pledged repeatedly over decades to destroy the State of Israel. Israel and the U.S. take those threats very seriously.
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Throughout the day on Thursday, the pace of warnings, evacuations and alarms continued to build.
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Meeting in Vienna on Thursday morning, the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution criticizing Iran for the first time in 20 years for not complying with its nonproliferation obligations, including its failure to provide information about nuclear material and activities at various locations.
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The resolution was supported by the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, as well as Canada.
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Within hours of the vote, Iran responded in kind. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran stated that a new uranium enrichment facility had already been built and will be equipped soon with new centrifuges — presumably in pursuit of ever greater quantities of enriched, weapons-grade uranium.
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Whereas many experts are focused on the readiness of Israel to strike Iran's nuclear development sites, any such attack would have to be executed with American diplomatic and military support.
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It is widely believed that Israel lacks the capability to deal a decisive blow to Iran's nuclear capabilities by itself, thus necessitating direct American engagement.
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Such a military operation is, of course, fraught with risk. It is the type of attack that is done once — with maximum impact. It also has the potential to set of a chain reaction of events that spins out of control.
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Seasoned experts caution that the heightened rhetoric may be intended to pressure Iran to finalize an agreement with the United States, but, in this tinderbox, all it takes is one match for everything to go up in flames.
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