TIMES OF ISRAEL
Israel modernizing nuclear capabilities, upgrading production facilities
June 18, 2024

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) believes that Israel has been working to modernize its nuclear weapons systems in recent months and has upgraded production facilities in southern Israel amid a worldwide trend of weakening nuclear diplomacy. Israel has never publicly acknowledged that it possesses nuclear weapons, but is widely believed to have around 90 in its arsenal, SIPRI assessed Tuesday in its annual report on the state of global armament and security, which examined developments throughout 2023 and until January 2024…In addition to reportedly modernizing its nuclear arsenal, SIPRI claimed that there was evidence Israel was in the process of upgrading its nuclear reactor in the southern town of Dimona. READ MORE

ISRAEL HAYOM Iran takes major step toward nuclear capability at key site About 1,400 Iranian-made new centrifuges and machinery could potentially triple Fordow’s capacity to produce enriched uranium.

AXIOS Barak Ravid: U.S. and Israel assessing new intelligence about Iran nuclear models U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies are looking into new information about computer modeling by Iranian scientists that could be used for research and development of nuclear weapons, two U.S. officials plus one current and one former Israeli official told Axios. The purpose of the modeling is unclear. Some U.S. and Israeli officials said the intelligence is a worrying signal about Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions, but other officials on both sides said it as a “blip” that doesn’t represent a shift in Iran’s policy and strategy towards weaponization. Iran has repeatedly denied wanting nuclear weapons. Senior U.S. and Israeli officials will meet at the White House on Thursday for the U.S.-Israel strategic consultative group (SCG) to discuss the state of the Iranian nuclear program and other issues [which seems to have been canceled due the just-released Netanyahu video].