Iran does not have a nuclear weapon yet - IDF intelligence chief

As the Islamic Republic advances in its quest for nukes, military intel chief Aharon Haliva said the IDF is remaining "ready at all times."

IDF Military Intelligence commander Aharon Haliva in Tel Aviv, November 4, 2022 (photo credit: Gideon Markowicz/Flash90)
IDF Military Intelligence commander Aharon Haliva in Tel Aviv, November 4, 2022
(photo credit: Gideon Markowicz/Flash90)

IDF Intelligence Chief Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva said on Monday that Iran has not yet decided to break out to a nuclear weapon, on either the uranium enrichment or weapons group fronts.

The IDF intelligence chief reaffirmed that, “Iran is the greatest threat to Israel, their conflict not just restricted to the nuclear issue or the precision missiles issue, or the proxies issue, or Hezbollah.”

"Iran is the true top threat to Israel, but the conflict between Israel and Iran is direct"

IDF Military Intelligence Directorate chief Aharon Haliva

IDF intel chief: Iran is targeting Israel on multiple fronts

Rather, in agreement with Defense minister Yoav Gallant, he said the Islamic Republic is trying to go after Jerusalem in a comprehensive way on multiple fronts simultaneously.

AN IRANIAN FLAG is pictured near in a missile during a military drill, with the participation of Iran’s air defense units in October.  (West Asia News Agency/Reuters) (credit: WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS)
AN IRANIAN FLAG is pictured near in a missile during a military drill, with the participation of Iran’s air defense units in October. (West Asia News Agency/Reuters) (credit: WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS)

The Palestinians have their own reasons for fighting Israel, but Iranian funds and weapons encourage the Palestinians to fight and make fighting more effective.

Interestingly, Haliva said that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah now views his group’s roadside bomb attack on March 13 near Megiddo as a mistake because he realizes that it could have led to a much wider conflict.
The intelligence chief said that despite Iran’s normalization process with the Saudis and other Arab states and Syria’s return to the Arab League, “there are still new opportunities” for Israel to forge additional normalization deals to strengthen Israel’s position versus Iran.
Moreover, he said that Iran’s mistake in helping Russia against Ukraine turned the West against it far more than the Iranian nuclear issue ever has.

Finally, Haliva noted that military intelligence cooperation with the Mossad and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) is closer than ever.