As the parties to the Iran nuclear deal decline to rescind it even in the face of the Islamic Republic expediting its nuclear program beyond the scope of the agreement, Israel is beefing up its capacity to hit Tehran’s deeply buried arms facilities. Will President Biden help?

Boeing’s defense, space, and security CEO, Ted Colbert, flew to Israel on Monday to finalize a sale of 25 F-15EX fighter jets and four KC-46 refueling planes. The fighter jets will replace an older F-15 model, which has been used by the Israeli air force for more than 50 years. 

Mr. Colbert’s visit coincides with a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to which the Islamic Republic is enriching uranium to just below the 90 percent purity that is needed for a nuclear bomb. The report presents a clear violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorsed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the nuclear deal is called officially. 

That resolution contained a “snapback” mechanism that would nullify it in case of “material breach” of its provisions. The mechanism, which could be triggered by any party to the JCPOA, would revive international sanctions and restrictions that existed previously.

Yet, after President Trump attempted in 2020 to trigger the mechanism, none of the other parties to the nuclear deal deemed any of the multiple Iranian violations a “material breach.” Because there has been no snapback, or any other serious diplomatic pushback, Israel is widely believed to be honing military plans to set back Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. 

Boeing’s jet deliveries “represent the capability of the long arm of Israel for its key missions today and into the future,” Mr. Colbert told Israeli military reporters, according to the Jerusalem Post. Boeing is scheduled to deliver the arms in two years. 

The new F15s are equipped with innovative electronics and have the capacity to carry missiles and ammunition that could penetrate Iran’s deeply dug nuclear facilities. The refueling vessels can significantly extend the distance the Israelis can fly, helping them to reach Iranian targets. 

Mr. Colbert declined to say if Boeing would deliver the planes earlier than 2025. “We are working very closely with the U.S. government, working with the Israeli government to deliver the capabilities as fast as we can,” Mr Colbert said. “It’s not my decision how that works.”

The decision could well depend on whether the White House decides to react to Iran’s latest violations by indicating support for an Israeli military action.

According to the IAEA, and as first reported by Bloomberg on Saturday, Iran has accumulated uranium enriched to 84 percent purity, the highest level found by inspectors in the country to date. 

“Such things do not happen accidentally,” a former top IAEA executive, Olli Heinonen, tweeted. “It takes some effort to modify a cascade to produce this level of enrichment. And it can be done quickly, if someone decides to do it.” 

Bloomberg quoted an unnamed Iranian “nuclear official,” who denied that it has “so far” enriched uranium beyond 60 percent purity.  Tehran has long argued that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and that it doesn’t seek a bomb. Accordingly, the JCPOA allowed it to enrich uranium to no more than 3.67 percent purity, which could be used for some medical research.

This makes Tehran’s response similar to Bob Marley’s famous line: “I shot the sheriff but I didn’t shoot the deputy.” Enrichment to 60 percent — which is one step away from bomb-grade — is a clear violation of the plan, as well as the Council resolution that endorsed it.

The IAEA’s director general, Rafael Grossi, recently called the JCPOA an “empty shell,” and said that the Islamic Republic has enough material for several nuclear weapons, if it decided to go that way.  

Tehran meanwhile is selling arms to Russia for use in the Ukraine war, and amassing Russian-made equipment that could possibly be used for delivering nuclear bombs. According to the nuclear deal’s gradual removal of restrictions on Iran, a ban on Iranian non-nuclear arms exports and imports has already expired. Another embargo, on trade in long-range missiles, will expire in October. 

Would any of Tehran’s violations suffice for the Security Council to trigger the snapback mechanism that it rejected three years ago? “Not yet,” a Western diplomat at the UN told the Sun recently, asking not to be identified. No wonder talk of military action to stop Tehran’s rush to a bomb has been revived.

“The Biden administration has allowed Iran to become a nuclear threshold state,” a Trump-era White House official charged with non-proliferation, Richard Goldberg, tweeted. “Sanctions still needed to deny resources to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. But Israel will need to take more aggressive military action to set back Iran’s nuclear program.”

Mr. Biden may also want to look into plans for armed action. For now, though, greenlighting an expedited delivery of Boeing jets capable of beefing up Israel’s capabilities would be a good signal.