Proclaim ye this among the nations, prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. (Joel 4:9)
With the interim deal struck between the P5+1 and Iran expiring in May, the Israeli and US military have begun preparations for a joint military exercise for that month to serve as a warning to the Iranians, according to a high-ranking Israeli officer quoted by a major US media outlet.
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity to Time magazine, said the training exercise would send the message to Israelis and Iranians that a military strike option remained viable should Tehran fail to comply with international demands to significantly limit its nuclear program. “It’s going to be big,” he said of the scheduled training.
A spokesman for the US European Command said the exercise was planned irrespective of events unfolding in the region, according to the report. “I think we’re still in the process of deciding the scale of the exercise,” says Capt. John W. Ross.
Until then, while negotiations over a comprehensive deal take place over the next six months, Israel will remain openly critical, the Israeli officer told Time. “The strategic decision is to continue to make noise.”
Iran is currently enjoying a “window” of time before the six-month deal signed in Geneva early Sunday goes into effect. For now, the Islamic Republic is not bound to take any credible steps toward disabling its ability to produce a nuclear weapon, the US State Department acknowledged Tuesday.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the six-month interim period, during which Iran would take steps to rein in its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, had not yet begun. Furthermore, there are still a number of details to be worked out, she said, without specifying what points had yet to be finalized.
A joint Israeli-US exercise would serve to allay fears that the US has taken the military option off the table, according to the Israeli officer speaking to Time.
“The wind from the Americans into the Israeli sails is, ‘We will maintain our capability to strike in Iran, and one of the ways we show it is to train,’” he was quoted as saying. “It will send signals both to Israel and to the Iranians that we are maintaining our capabilities in the military option. The atmosphere is we have to do it big time, we have to do a big show of capabilities and connections.”
