Ex-Israeli defense minister says Iran planning nuclear Holocaust as regime censored over atomic program

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JERUSALEM — Amid allegations leveled against the Biden administration that it is placating the Islamic Republic of Iran’s drive to build a nuclear weapon, former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tehran seeks a nuclear Holocaust targeting the Jewish state.

Lieberman, a member of Israel’s parliament (Knesset), told Israel’s Army Radio Tuesday Iran is “planning a Holocaust for us in the next two years.”

“We are in the midst of an Iranian extermination program,” Lieberman said. “Israel will be attacked with the aim of destroying it from several fronts with tens of thousands of missiles at the same time.”

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Getty Images)

A day after Lieberman’s comments, Israeli Brig. Gen (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, the former head of the research division in the Israel Defense Force’s Military Intelligence, told the Israeli TPS news agency, “The Biden administration wants to avoid any confrontation with Iran. They are afraid that if they move into confrontation, confrontational Iran may actually move towards having a bomb. But maybe [Iran’s leaders] believe that Trump is going to become the next president. They might actually try to break out a bomb now.”

Kuperwasser continued, “They have enough material to produce the fissile material that is necessary for three bombs within a month.”

Former Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Israel, Nov. 15. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

This week saw a flurry of regulatory, diplomatic and congressional activity directed at Iran for its continued work on its illicit atomic weapons program. 

Technicians work inside a uranium conversion unit March 30, 2005, outside the city of Isfahan, south of Tehran, Iran.  (Getty Images)

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) censured Iran Wednesday for its lack of cooperation with agency inspectors. Britain, France and Germany initiated the resolution. The Wall Street Journal reported the Biden administration sought to dissuade the Europeans from rebuking Iran at the IAEA. 

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Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war. (Reuters)

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller denied the Wall Street Journal report, noting the “report is not true. We have not lobbied any country to vote against or abstain from any resolution in that regard. We are actively increasing pressure on Iran through a combination of sanctions, deterrence and international isolation to counter their destabilizing behavior and prevent them from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“But I think you should not expect us to be acting in any sort of disharmony with our E3 partners. We’ve prized our unity with them, and I expect that to continue.” 

After mounting pressure on the U.S. to join the Europeans in a reprimand of Iran, the U.S. agreed at the 11th hour Wednesday.

Fox News Digital had asked the U.S. State Department for its response to Lieberman’s prediction about Iran’s use of nuclear weapons, the numerous diplomatic sources who said the EU did not want to rebuke Iran at the IAEA and whether the Biden administration plans to impose new sanctions on Tehran.

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The British, French and German governments on Friday sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council outlining Iran’s alleged violations of the 2015 nuclear deal. However, the European countries did not announce a “snap back” of U.N. sanctions on Iran for its alleged violations of the accord. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name for the Iran nuclear deal, expires Oct. 18, 2025. 

The Trump administration withdrew from the deal in 2018 because, the former president argued, it was a “horrible” deal that only placed temporary restrictions on Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal.

According to Iran International, Ali Shamkhani, a senior aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is now overseeing the nuclear talks for the Islamic Republic. Shamkhani issued a defiant post Thursday, stating, “From the JCPOA until the recent IAEA BoGs meeting, in compliance with their roles as good & bad police, the #US & the #EuropeanTroika have been trying to manage Iran’s reactions to their misbehavior by creating false hope in Iran. They have never been successful & never will be.” 

Fox News Digital reported this week that Republican Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., submitted a resolution that would “refer the issue to the U.N. Security Council and reaffirm that all measures will be taken to prevent the regime in Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”

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In late May, Fox News Digital reported that an IAEA document obtained by The Associated Press said that as of May 11, Iran had 313.2 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60%, an increase of 45.4 pounds since the last report by the U.N. watchdog in February. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Fox News’ Jamie Joseph and Pilar Arias contributed to this report.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com