US and Israel Agree to Accelerate ‘Operational Plans’ Against Iran

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi and U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley (R), attend the International Military Innovation Conference at the Tze'elim urban warfare training centre base in southern Israel on Sept. 15, 2022. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

The United States and Israel have agreed that “operational plans against Iran” must be accelerated as the country continues to advance its nuclear program.

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), met with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and other senior Washington officials at the Pentagon on Monday.

In a statement on Twitter, the IDF said that Kohavi had discussed with officials “further strengthening the cooperation between our militaries and mutual regional threats, primarily the Iranian nuclear threat.”

“On the one hand, Iran is under many economic, military, and internal pressures, and on the other hand, it continues to promote its nuclear program. The IDF strongly promotes all operational plans against the Iranian threat,” Kohavi said during the meeting.

Elsewhere during the discussions, “it was agreed that we are at a critical point in time that requires the acceleration of operational plans and cooperation against Iran and its terrorist proxies in the region,” the statement added.

A separate statement posted to the IDF website, says the two officials discussed “regional security issues, opportunities for greater bilateral cooperation and coordination to defend against a wide range of threats posed by Iran across the region and other items of mutual strategic interest.”

Possible Joint Air Force Drill

Kohavi and Milley are reportedly weighing up conducting a joint air force drill in the coming weeks, aimed at training soldiers for a potential conflict between Israel and Iran or Iran’s military proxies in the region, Fox News reported.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s office for comment.

Kohavi also met with national security adviser Jake Sullivan this week where the two discussed taking steps to deescalate the security situation in the West Bank and Washington’s desire to achieve a two-state solution that it said “remains the best avenue to achieve a lasting peace.”

During that meeting, the two officials also spoke about a “wide array of regional security issues of mutual concern,” while Sullivan stressed Washington’s “ironclad support for Israel’s security,” according to a readout of the meeting from the White House.

“They emphasized their shared determination to address security challenges impacting the Middle East, including the threats posed by Iran and its proxies, and Mr. Sullivan affirmed the President’s commitment to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon” the readout states.

Kohavi also met with CIA Director William Burns during his visit.

The meetings come after the head of Israeli military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, warned that Iran is moving closer to reaching 90-percent-enriched uranium, which he stressed posed “the greatest test of the international community.”

Uranium enriched at 90 percent is considered weapons-grade and officials fear Iran could use it to further bolster its nuclear program although Iran had denied that it plans to produce a nuclear bomb.

Washington has been trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, for months in an effort to prevent Iran from bolstering its nuclear program.

However, talks have broken down between the two nations owing to what the Biden administration says are Iran’s “unrealistic“ demands.