Netanyahu points to ‘more proof’ that Iran is making progress toward nuclear weapons

The world has received yet more proof that Iran is “continuing to make accelerated progress toward achieving nuclear weapons,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday in a meeting with US Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) during the latter’s tour of the Middle East.

Netanyahu spoke in response to a New York Times report warning that nuclear inspectors would soon report that Iran has installed “hundreds of new centrifuges in recent months” and may be ramping up nuclear fuel production. He said that Iran was making progress on its nuclear program “while totally ignoring international demands.”

Officials from the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were meeting Iranian officials in Vienna Friday in hopes of a breakthrough on gaining access to nuclear sites – in particular, the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran that they suspect was used for nuclear-weapons-linked experiments.

On Thursday, diplomats in Vienna told Reuters that Iran had increased uranium enrichment activities at the Fordo facility, a key nuclear site buried deep underground.

While Netanyahu warned once more that Iran was proceeding undeterred by international efforts to halt its nuclear program, the former chief of the General Staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, said Thursday that there is no reason for Israel to unleash a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities at this time.