US/Israeli Officials To Meet Thurs To Discuss Iran Nuclear Programme

Senior US and Israeli officials are expected to meet at the White House on Thursday to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme for the first time since March 2023.

• The meeting, which will be conducted within the U.S.-Israel strategic consultative group format, is reportedly focused on intelligence suggesting that Iran may be working on computer modelling that could be used for research and development of nuclear weapons.
• Axios notes: “The purpose of the modeling is unclear. Some U.S. and Israeli officials said the intelligence is a worrying signal about Iran's nuclear ambitions. Other officials on both sides say it's a "blip" that doesn't represent a shift in Iranian policy. Iran denies wanting nuclear weapons.”
• Barak Ravid at Axios reports on X that a US official said: "...there is no change to our assessment that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons development activities necessary to produce a testable nuclear device. We remain deeply concerned with Iran’s nuclear activities and will continue to vigilantly monitor them."
• The meeting comes amid increasing concerns that tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah could expand into a wider war, and days after an IAEA report warned that Iran had expanded its enrichment capacity at its Fordow facility.
• White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters: “If we weren't concerned about the possibility of escalation and a full-blown second front there, to the north, we wouldn't still be involved in such intense diplomacy. … We haven't seen Hezbollah jump in with two full feet here.”