Israel's Defence Minister Lays Out 'Plan B' If Vienna Talks on Iran Nuclear Deal Fail

The negotiations, which were close to reaching a final agreement, were temporarily put on hold in March following a reported request from Moscow to ensure that Russia-Iran trade won't be impeded by US sanctions.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz has stated during a briefing with ambassadors from 80 countries, that should the Vienna talks on restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) fail, world powers must enact a "Plan B", which he described as the use of "force, economic pressure and diplomatic pressure" with the goal of preventing Iran from further developing its nuclear programme.

Gantz claimed that since August 2021, Iran has extended its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium by 40 kilogrammes and has been rebuilding its nuclear facilities, placing main operation centres deeper underground. There have been several reports that Tehran has been relocating nuclear enrichment facilities inside mountains in order to better defend them against possible Israeli air raids.

"We are in a race against time", Gantz claimed.

At the same time, the Israeli defence minister presented his view of what the resurrected JCPOA should look like. According to Gantz, the resulting deal should have no expiration date that would eventually allow Tehran to ramp up its enrichment without consequences, and it must include strict monitoring of both Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Israel has repeatedly accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, despite Tehran rejecting these allegations, with the latter stressing that such armaments go against the country's official religion of Islam. Contrary to Tel Aviv's wishes and the proposals submitted by the US, Tehran rejects any notion of including its ballistic missile programme into a renewed JCPOA agreement.

Instead, Iran seeks to restore the original accord, which fell apart in 2018 after the US unilaterally withdrew from it. The only addition Tehran has called for is a guarantee that none of the parties withdraws again and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

The talks on restoring the Iran nuclear deal have been taking place in Vienna since 2021 and entered into the final stretch in February 2022. However, they have since been put on hold. According to some media reports, the pause was triggered by Russia's request for guarantees that its trade with Iran won't be impeded by Western sanctions. The US has reportedly refused to provide such guarantees. Tehran has expressed hope that they could still reach a deal by the end of March, but the US has appeared less optimistic, noting that the talks in Vienna could still fail.