TEL AVIV—Defense minister Israel Katz told lawmakers on Tuesday evening that Israel and the United States are closely monitoring Iran and are prepared to resume strikes to prevent the regime from rebuilding its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, according to two officials familiar with the briefing.
Katz delivered the confidential update to members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. The meeting came one day after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire ended a 12-day war between Israel and Iran. According to Katz, both countries believe diplomacy with Iran is unlikely to succeed and military action must remain on the table.
The coordinated Israeli-U.S. stance involves monitoring key Iranian sites, such as the Fordow enrichment facility and missile depots, to prevent the Iranians from accessing them.
Boaz Bismuth, a member of the committee, declined to confirm details of the briefing but said Israel and the United States "are in full agreement" about the need to prevent the Iranians from rebuilding their weapons programs.
"If they have the bad idea, the fantasy, of rebuilding, then I believe there will also be a restart in damaging their programs," he said. "A nuclear Iran should be not only a fantasy, but in the domain of science fiction."
President Donald Trump reinforced that message Wednesday at a NATO summit in the Netherlands. He said Iran no longer has a nuclear program and warned that any attempt to revive it could prompt additional U.S. military action—though he questioned whether Iran is capable of doing so in the short term.
"Sure," Trump answered after a reporter asked whether he would be willing to "strike again" should Iran attempt to "rebuild" its program. "But I'm not going to have to worry about that. It's gone for years, years. Very tough to rebuild."
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that the U.S. strikes on Fordow had rendered the site inoperable and that overall Israeli strikes on the nuclear program had "set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years."
Representatives for Netanyahu and Katz declined to comment.
Katz told lawmakers that one focus of Israeli and U.S. monitoring of Iran is roughly 400 kilograms of uranium, enriched to 60 percent, near the level used for nuclear weapons. Katz did not say where the uranium is located but indicated that Israel is guarding the location.
"The uranium is under watch," said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential briefing. "Israel knows where it is, and if someone comes near it, they’ll be hit."
Bismuth, who belongs to the ruling Likud party, said Israeli officials do not see the uranium as an immediate threat.
"Those who should know are confident … that Iran can’t build a bomb right now," he said.
Another focus, according to Katz, is Iran’s remaining ballistic missiles. Katz said the arsenal numbers about 800, down from some 2,500 before the war, and is stored in a heavily bombed area that would require major reconstruction to access.
Katz likened Israel’s posture in Iran to how the military has enforced a ceasefire that the United States brokered with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon in November. When a U.S.-led enforcement mechanism has failed to act quickly enough against threats in Lebanon, Israel has used aerial surveillance and precision strikes to target Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure.
Israel’s next operational focus may be the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen, according to Katz. The Houthis launched multiple missiles and drones at Israel during the war with Iran, and Katz said he has directed the military to draft plans to neutralize the threat.
Katz also disclosed that Israeli drones operated out of U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria during the campaign. While Israeli jets launched from within the country, drones were flown from forward positions due to range limitations, allowing near-constant coverage of Iranian military infrastructure. The use of the U.S. bases has not been publicly confirmed.
While the ceasefire with Iran has halted open hostilities, it has left the regime’s nuclear ambitions unresolved. Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would meet with Iranian officials next week, but Israeli officials remained skeptical that the talks would lead to an agreement to regulate Iran’s nuclear program.
Bismuth said Israel would back a diplomatic agreement only if it banned Iran from uranium enrichment and dismantled all the regime’s nuclear infrastructure.
"If we can have an agreement in which Iran will have zero enrichment and abandon its military nuclear dream, then we’re in favor," he said. "Are we expecting that? No."
Katz told lawmakers the Israeli government believes the strikes have weakened Iran’s leadership and that internal unrest may grow in the weeks ahead. While Israel is not calling for regime change, Katz said the end of the campaign could leave the ruling mullahs vulnerable to being overthrown.
"The Iranian people deserve a better life," Bismuth said, adding that the strikes had exposed the corruption and weakness of the regime. "It puts more light on the darkness. When people see what this regime has done—against its own people and against the world—it becomes harder for them to stay silent."