On a visit to Athens on Thursday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos that Iran has enriched enough uranium for five nuclear bombs, warning that the Islamic Republic intends to continue the enrichment process.
“Make no mistake: Iran will not be satisfied by a single nuclear bomb. So far, Iran has gained material enriched to 20% and 60% for five nuclear bombs. Iranian progress and enrichment to 90% would be a grave mistake on Iran’s part and could ignite the region,” said Gallant.
US officials have maintained that Iran has accelerated its enrichment but that it remains unclear if Tehran has decided to cross the weaponization line. “To the best of our knowledge, we don’t believe that the Supreme Leader in Iran has yet made a decision to resume the weaponization program that we judge that they suspended or stopped at the end of 2003,” CIA director Bill Burns told CBS in February.
The Israeli defense chief accused Iran of increasing weapons deliveries to Syria.
“Over the past six months, Iran has sent aircraft to Syria on a weekly basis, delivering weapons to be used for terrorism,” he said. Gallant threatened more Israeli strikes inside Syria to curb Iranian presence.
“The Syrian regime should be aware that the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] will respond forcefully to any attacks launched from its territory. We will not allow Iran to establish military power in Syria or to build a highway for the delivery of advanced weapons to Lebanon.”
Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes inside Syria in the past month, including one on Monday targeting Aleppo.
Growing Greek-Israeli ties
Hailing security ties between Israel and Greece, Gallant mentioned specifically the cooperation between the two countries beginning in April when a joint effort foiled an alleged Iranian plot to attack a Jewish Chabad house in Athens. Intelligence cooperation between Israel and Greece, said the minister, brought about the arrest of two Pakistani terror agents operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. “This is not the only attack that was prevented. In fact, Iran has launched a global terror campaign under the direct command of its leader,” said Gallant, stating that Israel had identified terror efforts of Iran not only in Greece but also in Germany, Cyprus and other countries.
Gallant arrived Thursday morning in Athens for a series of meetings with Panagiotopoulos and other Greek senior security officials. After Athens, Gallant is expected to travel to Nicosia for similar meetings.
The visit of Gallant to Greece and Cyprus comes on the backdrop of growing tensions between Israel and Iran. Al-Arabiya reported on Thursday that the attack on the Aleppo airport in Syria last Monday, attributed to Israel, included for the first time an attack on Iranian anti-missile batteries and on sensitive installations of Hezbollah. Israel did not comment on this report.
For the last decade, successive Israeli governments invested much effort in establishing a trilateral strategic alliance with Greece and Cyprus. Founded on the discovery of substantial offshore natural gas deposits in the Mediterranean Sea and on the common East-Med natural gas pipeline project, this alliance focuses primarily on energy but also addresses common security threats, battling regional terrorism and tourism. The three countries, together with Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Italy and France, are also members of the Cairo-based East Mediterranean Gas Forum.
As such, the three foreign ministers and the three energy ministers meet on a regular basis. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met last on March 31 in Nicosia. The three ministers stated at the meeting that the eastern Mediterranean can provide a key energy corridor to Europe through a planned electricity cable connecting the power grids of their respective countries and a potential natural gas pipeline. Cohen also asked his two counterparts to act to include the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the European Union’s list of terror organizations.
The three countries often conduct joint military drills together with the United States and other countries. In mid-March, air and naval forces from Greece, the United States, Israel, Cyprus, Italy and France launched a large two-week military drill in the eastern Mediterranean between the Israeli coast and the Greek island of Crete. The drill was dubbed Noble Dina. Further reinforcing the security aspect of the alliance, Israel inked on April 10 a large defense deal with Greece to provide it with over $400 million worth of Spike anti-tank missiles.
