A commercial vessel owned by an Israeli firm was attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in Gulf waters, pro-Iran media and an Israeli television channel reported. There were no casualties and the ship continued on its course.
The incident comes a day after Tehran accused Jerusalem of sabotaging the Natanz nuclear site, and after Iran and the United States began indirect talks in Vienna on ways to revive world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.
The blast at Natanz, attributed by many to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, was caused by a bomb planted at the site in advance, an Israeli news report said. According to local media, the explosive was placed near the main electricity line. When it detonated, the entire facility stopped functioning. Another report stated that the blast damaged advanced centrifuges. In 2007, Natanz was targeted by a cyber-warfare campaign allegedly run by Israel and the US involving the Stuxnet computer virus that sent hundreds of centrifuges out of control.
As a result of this week’s blast, the Natanz facility has been completely disabled, with the realization of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions having been set back by months.
Over the last few months, Israel and Iran have apparently been engaging in a shadow war on the backdrop of fears that Tehran’s nuclear program is intended to bring it to weapons-grade capability, with explosions on ships belonging to each attributed to attacks by the other.
The incidents have ramped up since US President Joe Biden took office in January with a commitment to rejoin the Iran Deal – abandoned by his predecessor Donald Trump – if Tehran returns to full compliance with the nuclear accord.
Iran announced that it will begin enriching uranium to the 60 percent purity level — its highest level yet — after it accused Israel of being behind the explosion at the Natanz nuclear facility. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi told state-run Press TV that the Islamic Republic had notified the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, of its plan. He also said that Iran would install 1,000 more centrifuge machines in Natanz.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – more commonly known as the Iran Deal – restricts the regime in Tehran to the 3.67 percent level. After the assassination of its top nuclear scientist in November 2020, the Iranian parliament passed a law calling on the government to produce and store uranium enriched to 20 percent purity before February 2021, as part of its efforts to gain bargaining chips ahead of nuclear talks with world powers.
At the time, the move set off alarms globally, widely perceived as a major step toward a nuclear weapon – especially since there is no viable civilian use for 20 percent enriched uranium.
An Israeli official said that enrichment to 60 percent is “breaking a threshold where it’s very clear what they’re doing and obviously this is well on the way for a weapons-grade material.”
Meanwhile, a US State Department spokesperson said that indirect talks between Washington and Tehran would continue, following Iran’s declaration, and that the negotiations had thus far been constructive, adding: “We take seriously Iran’s provocative announcement of its intention to begin enriching uranium to 60 percent, which the P5+1 should be unified in rejecting,” referring to the parties to the JCPOA.
The White House has told Congress that it will move ahead with a massive arms deal to the United Arab Emirates, including advanced F-35 aircraft, that was signed in the wake of Israel’s normalization deal with the Gulf nation. Jerusalem announced in October that it would not oppose the sale, an about-face from its previous opposition to the deal on the grounds that it would harm the Jewish state’s military edge in the region.
In January, the new administration put a temporary hold on several major foreign arms sales initiated by former US president Donald Trump, including the deal to provide 50 fighter planes to the UAE. Despite the delay, Israel-UAE normalization has moved ahead without any adverse effects over the last few months.
The United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates have insisted that the arms deal was not part of the negotiations that brought about the so-called Abraham Accords.
The news that the US would move ahead came a day after Defense Minister Benny Gantz met his counterpart, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in Tel Aviv this week. Gantz is believed to have secured an American commitment to a substantial military package to compensate for the weapons that the Pentagon was preparing to sell to one of Israel’s neighbors.
Israel announced that it will reopen the country to vaccinated foreign tourists, more than a year after closing its borders to most international visitors due to the coronavirus. The Tourism Ministry said a limited number of tourist groups will be allowed to enter Israel starting on May 23. All foreign tourists entering the country will be tested for COVID-19 before boarding flights to Israel and must present a serological test to prove that they have been vaccinated.
At the same time, Jerusalem is in talks to conclude reciprocal agreements with other governments to recognize vaccination certificates, which could ultimately exempt the citizens of those countries from serology tests.
In recent months, Israel carried out a highly successful vaccination program that has allowed it to reopen most sectors of the economy. But the tourism industry, which has been limited to serving locals, has suffered a major economic blow. The Tourism Ministry and Health Ministry closed the country’s borders to non-Israeli passport holders in March 2020.
According to the plan, if the influx of a limited number of tour groups has no impact on the infection rate in Israel, then incoming tourism will be extended to individuals as well as groups.
Currently, 8,000-10,000 passengers pass through Ben Gurion Airport daily. Passenger traffic is restricted due to the Health Ministry’s social distancing requirements, though it is considering easing the restriction so that airport traffic can be increased.
Along with many other Jewish and Israeli organizations, HonestReporting is inviting you to a global event on the occasion of Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day. The program, an initiative of Jewish International Connection (JIC) and Strength to Strength, will be streamed live through Zoom and Facebook on Wednesday, April 14.
Speakers include:
- Sari Singer (Founder, Strength to Strength), survivor of a terror attack on a Jerusalem bus in 2003
- Miriam Fuld, wife of Israeli activist and IDF reservist Ari Fuld, who was killed in a terrorist attack in 2018
- Dovid Salzman, a survivor of a triple bombing on Jerusalem’s Ben Yehuda Street (1997)
- Rena Ariel, whose thirteen-year-old daughter Hallel was stabbed to death in bed at her home in 2016
- Shahaf Segal, an IDF sharpshooter who was severely injured during Operation Cast Lead (2008-2009)
The program will run on Wednesday from 8:10 until 10:30 AM EDT (3:10-5:30 PM Israel time). More information can be found on Jewish International Connection’s website.
Recommended Reading
- A Return to the Nuclear Agreement? Contacts Between the United States and Iran (Eldad Shavit and Sima Shine, Institute for National Security Studies)
- The Sound That Commands Us to Remember (Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, Jewish News Syndicate)
- Terror Victims: Every Day is Remembrance Day (HonestReporting)
- Paying Homage to Foreign Volunteers Who Died in Fight for Israel’s Independence (Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am, Times of Israel)
- Independence Day: US Landmarks, Buildings to Light up Blue and White (Jerusalem Post)
