US and Israeli defense chiefs are expected on Thursday to discuss possible military exercises that would allegedly prepare for a so-called worst-case scenario to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities should diplomacy fail, a senior US official said.
The scheduled US talks with visiting Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz follow an October 25 briefing by Pentagon leaders to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on the full set of military options available to ensure that Iran would not be able to produce a nuclear weapon, the official said.
The official made the comments on Wednesday to the Reuters news agency on the condition of anonymity.
The comments come as the Vienna nuclear talks between Iran and world powers were set to resume on Thursday.
Gantz was set to meet with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Washington.
Israeli leaders are in an all-out bid against the negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear accord, with Mossad (Israel’s intelligence agency) chief David Barnea also in Washington this past week.
Iran vehemently denies its nuclear program is for military purposes. However, the Zionist entity, which is not a signatory for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has a nuclear stockpile that ranges between 80 and 400 nuclear warheads.
Source: Reuters
