Former Israeli intelligence official: Iran close to enriching uranium to military-grade level

Iran is “days or weeks” away from enriching uranium to the 90% military grade level and Israel should be ready to act, a former top official with Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, said Sunday.

Zohar Palti, a former intelligence director with Mossad, said Israel’s military has the capability to launch a successful strike on Iran’s nuclear plants. Government officials will have to make “serious decisions” in the near future, Mr. Palti said.

“I’m not implying that Israel is capable. I’m saying it is,” Mr. Palti said, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.

Enriching uranium to the 90% level doesn’t mean Iran is immediately able to construct a nuclear weapon, Mr. Palti acknowledged while speaking at an event hosted by The Times of Israel.

“But, it’s very bad and we’ve never been closer to it,” Mr. Palti said.

Continuing concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions come as Israel prepares to return former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to office.

He will be at the head of a coalition of conservative to far-right parties in Israel that are expected to take a hard line on a number of domestic and international issues.

Last month, President Joseph R. Biden let slip to a group of Iranian-American protestors that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran nuclear deal isn’t going to happen.

“It’s dead, but we are not going to announce it,” Mr. Biden said in a video that surfaced in early November.