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Under Cover of its Proxy War Against Israel, Iran’s Nuclear Program Is Rushing Ahead
Military personnel stand guard at a nuclear facility in the Zardanjan area of Isfahan, Iran, April 19, 2024. Photo: West Asia News Agency via REUTERS
JNS.org – Iran appears to be exploiting the ongoing war of attrition between its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, and Israel to make rapid progress on its nuclear program.
“There is no doubt that Iran is taking advantage of the Israeli, the American, and the entire international community’s focus on the war in Gaza and on the northern border to advance its nuclear program as much as possible,” professor Eyal Zisser, vice rector of Tel Aviv University, told JNS.
Tehran’s goal, he said, is “reaching a threshold state without actually crossing the line and conducting a nuclear test.”
Asked whether a dual-front confrontation involving a simultaneous strike on Iran’s nuclear sites and Hezbollah’s strategic missile stockpiles could be an option for Israel, Zisser said Jerusalem might not have a choice.
“The government’s policy for now is to focus on Gaza and keep the northern border on a low flame,” he said. “This [the dual front conflict] requires the mobilization of society and the military, and international support—these things are not present now,” he added.
However, he said, “The option of a military move should be on the table—and in any case, it is likely that if Israel attacks Iran, Hezbollah will join as well.”
Asked if Israel was relying too much on the international community to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Zisser disagreed.
“I don’t think anyone relied on the international community to do anything,” he said. “There were expectations from the United States—but Trump left and Biden came, and it seemed clear from the beginning that Biden would not go all the way against Iran. The question is whether Trump would if he is elected,” he added.
US support would be critical in any confrontation with Iran, he said, adding that on this matter, both Biden and Trump “are committed to Israel but will hesitate on the question of whether to go to a forceful maneuver with Iran because of Israel. So it is not clear that the elections will change anything.”
Ephraim Asculai, a former senior official at the Israel Atomic Energy Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), recently provided a detailed analysis of Iran’s advancements in uranium enrichment.
Speaking to journalists on a call organized on July 3 by the Jerusalem Press Club, he explained, “I can say very briefly that the capacity of Iran to enrich uranium to weapons grade, which is 90% enrichment, is multiplied by many, many times.”
Asculai added that Iran now possesses, according to data provided by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, the capability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade level within a few weeks, in quantities that would be enough for “several nuclear warheads.”
He noted that while enrichment is the most difficult aspect of producing nuclear weapons, it isn’t the only one.
“There are two additional parts to the development of nuclear weapons. The second is the design and production of the nuclear explosive mechanism, and the third is the delivery system. And each has its own problems,” he said.
However, most of these two stages can be completed in parallel with the enrichment process, he added. Based on intelligence gathered by the Mossad in 2018 on the Iranian nuclear program up to 2003, Iran had already at that time advanced “quite nicely” with respect to the nuclear explosive mechanism.
“I think that it is assumed that the Iranians received the design of the nuclear explosive device from Pakistan from the late unlamented doctor Abdul Qadir Khan, and thereby they know what to do,” he said.
The post Under Cover of its Proxy War Against Israel, Iran’s Nuclear Program Is Rushing Ahead first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases

US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.