Israeli Officials Alarmed by General Milley's Remarks on Iran's Nuclear Program

Last week, during a House hearing on Iran's nuclear program, General Mark Milley, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a statement that alarmed Israeli defense and intelligence officials. Milley's remark that the U.S. "remains committed as a matter of policy that Iran will not have a fielded nuclear weapon" created the impression among Israeli officials that the U.S. had changed its policy on Iran. The officials were concerned that the U.S. would allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon as long as it didn't deploy it on a missile or other delivery system.

Furthermore, Milley's assessment of the time Iran would need to produce a nuclear weapon once it has a sufficient amount of enriched uranium was significantly shorter than the estimate of the Israeli intelligence community. This caused even more concern among Israeli officials who believe it would take Iran one to two years to build a nuclear device.

After the hearing, Israeli officials called their U.S. counterparts and expressed concern about Milley's remarks. Several days later, Milley clarified his statement at a House Armed Service Committee meeting by stressing that the U.S. is committed to ensuring Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon. This time, he didn't use the word "fielded.

Israeli officials saw Milley's statement as the clarification they hoped for. "We asked the Biden administration to fix it and they did," said a senior Israeli official. Despite the initial alarm, a Joint Staff spokesperson confirmed that "U.S. policy remains the same."