Israel is seriously considering military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities as Tehran rapidly expands its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, former US national security adviser John Bolton has said. The veteran diplomat’s warning came as a confidential report from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which shows Iran now holds 408.6 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity. The total represents an increase of almost 50 percent compared with the IAEA’s last report.
Thia is just a step away from the 90% enrichment considered weapons-grade and theoretically enough to produce several atomic bombs if further processed. Mr Bolton, appointed by US President Donald Trump in his first term, told Express.co.uk: “Israel has every reason to be preparing for a strike. The intelligence confirms Iran is getting dangerously close to a nuclear weapons capability.”
He added: “The longer Iran delays meaningful cooperation with the IAEA, the more Israel’s strategic calculus shifts toward preemptive military options.
“The IAEA’s detailed findings give Israel the hard intelligence it needs to justify serious military planning.”
“If diplomacy fails, Israel will not hesitate to defend itself against existential threats.
If Israel was to act, it would likely increase the pressure on the Islamic Republic, already reeliong from the toppling of the Assad regime in Syria, Mr Bolton argued.
“I think it’s on their minds right now.”
The leaked Vienna-based IAEA report was released as Washington and Tehran continue several rounds of talks aimed at salvaging a nuclear deal. Yet Iran’s rapid uranium enrichment and limited cooperation with the watchdog’s investigation into undeclared nuclear sites have deepened global concerns.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare statement on the Jewish Sabbath, warning that Iran is “totally determined to complete its nuclear weapons programme.”
He called the IAEA’s findings “a clear warning sign” and insisted that Iran’s enrichment “has no civilian justification whatsoever.”
The IAEA report highlights that Iran, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamanei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, is the only non-nuclear-weapon state producing uranium enriched to such a high level, labelling the situation “a serious concern”. It estimates that about 42 kilograms of 60%-enriched uranium is enough to make one atomic bomb if further enriched to weapons-grade levels.
Iran’s total stockpile of enriched uranium, including lower enrichment levels, has risen sharply to over 9,200 kilograms, the IAEA has warned. While Tehran claims its nuclear programme is peaceful, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned that Iran now has enough uranium near weapons-grade to “make several nuclear bombs if it chose to do so.”
The agency’s probe into undeclared nuclear sites has found uranium traces at three locations — Turquzabad, Varamin, and Marivan — suggesting Iran ran a secret structured nuclear programme until the early 2000s using undeclared nuclear material.
One key site, Lavisan-Shian, was razed by Iran after 2003 and never inspected by IAEA. The report criticised Tehran’s “less than satisfactory” cooperation in clarifying these sites, with Western officials suspecting they were part of a covert military nuclear effort.
US intelligence agencies believe Iran has not yet started an actual weapons programme but “has undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device if it chooses to do so.”
Mr Trump has urged Israel to hold off on military strikes for now while pushing for a new deal. He said on Friday: “They don’t want to be blown up. They would rather make a deal.” He added: “That would be a great thing that we could have a deal without bombs being dropped all over the Middle East.”
However, Iran’s hardline stance demanding full sanctions relief and continuation of its nuclear programme makes a deal elusive.
European nations now face pressure to respond. The IAEA’s comprehensive report, circulated to member states, could lead to the reinstatement of snap-back sanctions ahead of the 2015 nuclear deal’s formal expiry in October, which risks escalating tensions further.
Meanwhile Israel appears to regard diplomatic delays are increasingly risky, with Mr Netanyahu’s statement urging the international community to “act now to stop Iran,” signalling his impatience with the current stalemate.