PM has established 6 teams after previously neglecting the issue, Axios says, amid fears that Iran could seek a nuclear breakout before next US president takes office
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reestablished a series of working groups two weeks ago to deal with Iran’s nuclear program, amid concern that the Islamic Republic could aim to develop an atomic bomb as early as January, according to a report in Axios on Wednesday that cited three unnamed senior Israeli officials.
Netanyahu’s directive to reassemble the working groups came after having ignored the issue throughout his most recent term in office, the report contended.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment.
The working groups are a cooperative effort of the security forces, the Foreign Ministry and the intelligence community, according to the report, with the National Security Council responsible for managing the process of setting them up.
The renewed attention to Iran’s nuclear program came after new intelligence indicated that Iran could be looking to “shorten the timetable” for going nuclear, according to Yaakov Nagel, a former national security adviser who remains close to the prime minister.