MUNICH: Israel said on Friday that “all possible means” were on the table to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon and it demanded that the international community do more to stop Tehran’s proliferation of advanced weapons.

Talks to revive the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers have been at a stalemate since September.

Western states accuse Iran of making unreasonable demands after all sides appeared to be nearing a deal, but with no breakthrough in sight Iran has continued to develop its nuclear programmme.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog this month criticised Iran for making an undeclared change to the interconnection between the two clusters of advanced machines enriching uranium to up to 60 per cent purity, close to weapons grade, at its Fordow plant.

“When we speak of preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, we must keep all the possible means I repeat, all possible means — on the table,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, speaking at an event alongside officials from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Yoav said Iran was expanding its advanced weapons proliferation beyond the region despite an ongoing an embargo that includes restrictions on missiles and related technologies that lasts until October 2023 and encompasses the export and purchase of advanced military systems.

“Iran is currently holding discussions to sell advanced weapons, including UAVs and PGMs, to no less than 50 different countries,” he said, referring to combat drones and precision-guided munitions and citing Belarus and Venezuela.

“The international community must create an effective alternative to the dying embargo a practical mechanism of deterrence and consequences,” he said.

Israel is widely believed to have its own nuclear arsenal, though it will neither confirm nor deny this.

The 2015 agreement limited Iran’s uranium enrichment programme to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms, in return for lifting international sanctions. Iran says it was further developing nuclear energy for peaceful reasons.

Iran’s crackdown on protesters and the sale of drones to Russia in its war with Ukraine has also increased tensions with Western powers, who say that Tehran is violating a UN Security Council Resolution with its transfer of drones.

The United States and European Union have imposed several raft of sanctions on Iran over the drones’ transfers. The EU is set to punish individuals linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards over production of drones used against Ukraine.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2023