German and Japanese intelligence sources Monday, March 5, confirmed to debkafile that Western intelligence had known for 11 months that North Korea had carried out at least one covert underground nuclear test in 2010 on an Iranian radioactive bomb or nuclear warhead. Shortly after the first test in April, a large team of Iranian nuclear experts arrived in Pyongyang to prepare the second one in May, after which Iran transferred to the North Korean nuclear energy commission the sum of $55 million.

US President Barack Obama and Israeli President Shimon Peres in addressing the opening of the pro-Israeli lobby AIPAC convention in Washington, Sunday, March 4, condemned a nuclear Iran as a threat to the US, Israel and the world. President Obama urged the efficacy of diplomacy backed by pressure since “Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon” and there was still time for Iran’s leaders to make the right decision. debkafile: Iran has used this policy to accelerate its nuclear program as never before.

Expectations that the meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Monday, March 5, will produce accord on how and when to stop Iran going nuclear are likely to prove unfounded, say debkafile’s sources. Obama was always dead against pursuing military action before sanctions and negotiations ran their course. Now he also wants to show Israel the limits of its influence in Washington. He will leave Netanyahu with a lone decision on how to deal with the prospect of an Iranian nuclear bomb.
 

In an interview to The Atlantic Friday, March 2, US President Barack Obama held to the line that “Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon” and cautioned against a “premature attack” on the Islamic Republic. debkafile: This assessment is certainly not shared by Israel and ignored its call for red lines to warn Iran it will be attacked if it takes its nuclear weapons program beyond them. Neither did the president mention the advanced stage of the shielding of Iran’s nuclear facilities in bunkers.

In a significant policy U-turn on Iran, anonymous Pentagon officials disclosed Thursday, March 1, that “military options being prepared start with providing refueling for Israeli planes and include attacking the pillars of the clerical regime.” This was the first Washington reference to possible joint US-Israeli military action against Iran.  Israel earlier called on the US to set red lines for Iran’s nuclear projects and to spell out military contingencies instead of the worn-out “all options are on the table” mantra.

US and Israeli government officials joined forces in their recent talks in their two capitals for a reevaluation of their pooled intelligence on the state of the Iranian nuclear weapon program. Their conclusions will be presented to President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at their White House meeting March 5. In Tehran, reports like the AP claim that Israel might be allowed to use US bases in the region from which to attack Iran are treated as part of the US-Israeli campaign of deception.
 

Jerusalem suspects Washington of planting undercover informants for advance warning of an Israeli strike against Iran. The mutuall distrust is traced to an encounter six months ago when Barack Obama turned Binyamin Netanyahu down on a secret plan for Israel to refrain from attacking Iran’s nuclear sites and follow his lead ...

The US Pentagon and Israel’s high command are taking Tehran’s threat of preemptive action with the utmost seriousness as changing the rules of the standoff. It was issued to provide Iran with grounds for claiming international legitimacy for any preemptive military action launched against Israel or American targets as ...

US-Israeli tensions go down a notch as Washington and Jerusalem agree to reassess pooled intelligence on the state of Iran’s nuclear weapon program for a reassessment leading up to a decision by Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu on action.

Tehran this week hardened its nuclear and military policies regardless of forthcoming international nuclear talks. The threat by Iran’s armed forces deputy chief Gen. Mohammad Hejazi of a preemptive strike against its “enemies,” was accompanied by its refusal to allow UN nuclear watchdog inspectors to visit the Parchin facility, following which the IAEA chief cut their mission short. The transfer of 20 percent uranium enrichment to Fordo is estimated to have shortened Iran’s race for weapons grade material to six weeks.

Deputy Chief of Iran’s Armed Forces Gen. Mohammad Hejazi said Tuesday, Feb. 21: “Our strategy now is that if… our enemies want to endanger Iran’s national interests… we will act without waiting for their actions.”  debkafile’s sources report that an Iranian preemptive attack on Israel, in the air for some weeks, became realistic when Tehran seized on the dragging US-Israeli argument over a military strike and the two government’s indecisiveness as a golden opportunity to further its interests ahead of talks with world powers.

In its latest issue out Friday, DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s exclusive sources detail the exact points reached in the debate between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government over an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Washington is seen working Israel’s domestic scene to build up an anti-attack opposition, as a gleeful Iran keeps track of the new climax in the US-Israeli spat. And discover the new turnabout in Moscow’s policies toward Washington, Tehran and Damascus before it surfaces in this eye-opening issue.

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After a high-ranking US delegation headed by White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon failed in three days of tough talks (Feb.18-20) to dissuade Israeli leaders to back off plans for a military strike against Iran’s nuclear sites, the White House invited Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for talks with President Barak Obama on March 5. He will try and break the stalemate which ended his advisers’ talks with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.

US President Barack Obama is convinced that the resumed international nuclear negotiations he has worked hard to set up will not only avert war but lay to rest once and for all the problem of Iran’s nuclear bomb program. But the imminence of Iranian talks with world powers has already had the negative effects of sparking a wave of Iranian terror against Israeli overseas targets and seriously devaluing sanctions, debkafile reports. Anyway, Tehran has no intention of yielding on its drive for nuclear arms.

Wednesday, Netanyahu blasted Iran – and indirectly Washington– when he said in Cyprus that sanctions “haven’t worked” and that a regime which attacks diplomats to have nuclear weapons “is something of enormous concern for the United States and for Israel.”In the last 24 hours, the approach of international talks with Iran on its nuclear program has escalated high tensions between the Obama administration and the Israeli government.
US President Barack Obama decided to send his US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon on an urgent visit to Israel Saturday for three days of talks ...

The White House expects talks to start in days and lead to the halting of Iran’s nuclear program development and nuclear enrichment and the dismantling of its nuclear weapons facilities and labs. Israel’s Binyamin Netanyahu is less sanguine, says sanctions or not working and slams Iran as “the most ...

Tehran was always willing to talk, less to listen. This time, Iran is preparing to enter into negotiations from a position of strength after demonstrating that US and European sanctions have not had the effect of blocking the bulk of its oil exports.

By suddenly stating, contrary to all informed estimates, that Iran’s nuclear arms program has not yet reached the point of no return, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak implied that Israel was in no hurry to strike its nuclear facilities, a message for which Washington has been angling for months. His words Thursday Feb. 16 contradicted the evaluations of the current and former Israeli Military Intelligence chiefs. debkafile attributes Barak’s re-evaluation to reports of US-Iranian agreement to resume nuclear talks soon.

Shrugging off Western sanctions and Israeli recriminations, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad played a starring role in a widely televised spectacle by inserting his country’s first domestically-made fuel rod into the Tehran Research Reactor Wednesday, Feb. 15. The scene came after the announced cutoff of Iranian oil exports to six European countries - Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal. Two hours later, the Iranian oil ministry challenged the announcement, spoiling the show by showing up differences in high regime ranks.

Israel's top IDF command is being reshuffled, tailored for the potential confrontation with Iran. When Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel takes over in May as Air Force chief, he will free the retiring AIF commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan to become Dep. Chief of Staff and bring his high technological ...