A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that if Iran’s stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium is not removed from the country in the wake of the recent war, the campaign could be considered “one big failure.”

Israeli officials have said that this stockpile is sufficient for 11 nuclear bombs if enriched further. Iran has long maintained that its program is peaceful, despite enriching uranium at near-weapons-grade levels.

Israel launched its campaign against Iran on February 28, alongside the United States, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.

The senior officer said that if, under the ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran, no agreement is reached to remove the uranium stockpile and halt enrichment in the country, the achievements of the 40 days of fighting will have been for nothing.

“If the nuclear objective is not achieved, then everything we did in Iran will be one big failure. The evil Iranian regime can pounce on the nuclear program,” the official said during a briefing for reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The officer added that “if the uranium is removed from Iran through diplomatic means, we have done our part.” However, if that does not happen, Israel would need to launch another operation in Iran to achieve the objective.

During a recent visit to southern Lebanon, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that “every [goal] the political echelon defined for us regarding the current campaign in Iran and Lebanon has been achieved and even beyond that.”

“In doing so, we have created the operational conditions for the processes now being led by the political echelon,” he stated.

IDF’s hands ‘tied’ in Lebanon

The officials said the Israeli military is optimistic that a solution will be found to counter the fresh threat of Hezbollah’s first-person view (FPV) fiber-optic cable-guided drones, which have been repeatedly used in attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and northern Israel in recent weeks.

The military official said the IDF has been taking the threat seriously and working to develop and test systems to counter fiber-optic FPV drones, which are immune to electronic jamming. However, it is unlikely that any such system would be ready in the short term, he said, nor would it provide a hermetic solution to the threat.

“There is no magic solution. But we are optimistic that we will find a solution for the drones,” he said.

Still, the official said the most effective way to counter the threat would be to target the drone operators deep in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s supply chain for the drones.

However, this is currently not possible due to the ceasefire, as Israel is only permitted to target imminent threats to troops in southern Lebanon, such as drone operators actively piloting a drone.

“We need to go on the offense,” the officer said, while noting that currently, “our hands are tied.”

The Israeli Air Force has been assisting ground troops in Lebanon in dealing with the FPV drone threat by deploying mobile radars to detect them and alert forces, who can then attempt to shoot them down.

The IAF has also carried out interceptions, reporting that it shot down at least 27 FPV drones using the short-range Iron Dome air defense system.

While the military has deployed the Iron Beam — a high-powered laser system designed to shoot down drones and other aerial threats at a far lower cost per interception — it has seen limited use and has not yet been declared operational within the IDF. The senior officer said the Iron Beam’s coverage is partial, and more time is needed for a wider and more complete laser-based defense array.