Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Germany on Tuesday for diplomatic meetings aimed at countering the Iranian nuclear threat.
“This is the time to take steps, this is the time to take action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” said Cohen during a press conference with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock.
His comments came after the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in a report that its inspectors found uranium enriched to 83.7 percent at Iran’s underground nuclear site in Fordow.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of a confidential IAEA quarterly report stating that “particles” of the substance, just below the 90% enrichment level considered “military grade,” had been detected.
ביקרתי היום באנדרטת השואה בברלין, כנציג מדינת ישראל.
לא נשכח ולא נסלח לצורר הנאצי ולשותפיו שטבחו שישה מיליון מבני עמנו.
לצערי האנטישמיות עדיין קיימת, וגם היום יש מי שקורא להשמדת מדינת ישראל. אך היום, יש לנו מדינה חזקה עם צבא עוצמתי, ואני מציע לאויבינו שלא לבחון את יכולותינו. >> pic.twitter.com/2y2TQglJmm— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) February 28, 2023
During his trip, Cohen visited a Holocaust memorial museum in Berlin, where he vowed to “never forget or forgive the Nazi tyrants and their accomplices who slaughtered six million Jews.
“Unfortunately,” he continued, “antisemitism still exists, and even today there are those who call for the destruction of the State of Israel. But now, we have a strong country with a powerful army, and I suggest to our enemies not to test our capabilities.”
Israel would do everything possible to maintain the security of its citizens, added Cohen, who stressed “never again.”
Last week, Cohen called on Washington to take steps to convince Tehran that the United States is not bluffing when it comes to the possibility of the use of force.
“If the United States does not establish a credible military threat immediately, either Israel will attack, or Iran will have a nuclear weapon, which we will not allow under any circumstance,” said the foreign minister.