Shimony allowed everyone to bask in the glory of the Israeli Air Force for a minute or two before saying "I agree with the Air Force Commander, but I fear that there are other routes through which a nuclear device or bomb can be smuggled into Israel. I am sure that you all remember two such cases from our recent history. They became famous through the not entirely fictional novels of The Dreadful Alchemist and The Dreadful Renegade. I think the Iranians know they have no chance of penetrating our air space in an overt act of war. So they will try to devise other, less direct ways, by sea, land or air". This statement gave all the participants of the high level meeting food for thought.
The PM then directed a question at the Head of the IAEC "Can you give us an estimate of the power of such a device, if it exists, and assessment of the damage it may cause?"
The Head of the IAEC replied "With regard to the second question the answer is quite bleak — a nuclear bomb in the Tel-Aviv area would devastate the country. Even if the number of immediate casualties is similar to relatively primitive atomic bombs deployed in the World War, namely on the order of 100,000, the subsequent loss of life would be at least double, considering the population density. The economic consequences are unimaginable as this is the center of commerce and industry. I believe that the country would survive but life as we know it would change dramatically. Your first question, Mr. Prime Minister can perhaps better be answered by Mossad. I can only assume that it would be at least as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb." Everyone grew quiet although they had heard these estimates many times before and they were common knowledge even if not consciously acknowledged by every semi-intelligent citizen of Israel.
The PM realized that a dark mood descended on the conference room. He banged his left hand on the table to get everyone's attention and draw them out of their daydreams or nightmares. He said "Gentlemen, we have to prevent this from happening with all means at our command. With the physical evidence that David got us we can try convince our allies that a preemptive strike is inevitable. Preferably by a combined alliance of all countries that are threatened by a nuclear Iran. I mean not only the Western powers but to enlist the moderate Sunni countries, even the Russians who are not too glad to see another nuclear armed regional power on their doorstep. They may need some prompting and we, too, can use non-diplomatic measures to convince them that stopping Iran now is in their best interests."
As the meeting was coming to its conclusion the PM summarized "Shimony, get more information on the clandestine laboratory, its exact location, personnel and status. Use whatever means you see fit. Focus on the delivery methodology — so we can stop it before it reaches our shores. Air Force Commander, make sure your anti-missile and anti-aircraft systems are at a high level of readiness. Conduct exercises, test your systems, train the personnel operating these systems. Minister of Defense, I'll instruct the Minister of the Treasury to turn over the necessary funds for the Air Force and preparation of civil defense. Head of IAEC, I want your experts to interpret the significance of the results brought to us by Mossad. Gentlemen this is possibly the biggest threat on our country since the 1973 War. It is our responsibility to our children and grandchildren to prevent this catastrophe."
As they were leaving the room the PM asked Shimony and David to stay behind. "Do you know what is happening with the other hostages? I was pleased that Morris and Vicki didn't know that Inbal is my granddaughter and hope the Iranians don't find this out."
David looked at Shimony and said "Mr. Prime Minister, one of the scenarios we suspect is that the Iranians will agree to return the hostages and use them to somehow deliver the nuclear bomb. Maybe they will booby-trap the plane with a nuclear device. Perhaps they'll manage to reduce its size and weight so that it will fit in a suitcase and then we'll be almost helpless to prevent its delivery. I need your direct permission to continue to negotiate their release with Imam Mourtashef, because there are risks involved here, as I mentioned."
The PM said "I had feared that it would come to this — saving my granddaughter from Evin Prison at the cost of putting the country at risk. If it were a direct threat I would have not hesitated to resign, but in the present situation where the risk is still hypothetical I prefer to continue to lead this country. I am not sure I can completely trust whoever replaces me if I resign."
Shimony just said "Prime Minister, Mossad will do all in its power to have the hostages back safely and to avert the danger to the country."
General Koliagin was in a foul mood once again. He was looking forward to hosting another meeting with Imam Mourtashef and David Avivi, but something in the back of his mind was bothering him. He couldn't figure the real motivation of both sides. On the one hand the Iranians were trying to demonstrate to the world that they were a respectable member of the international community. Since the 2016 elections the extreme outbursts against America and Israel were toned down — no more "Big Satan" and "Little Satan" banners and chants in "spontaneous" demonstration, no more "Death to America" shouts, even the outbursts and invectives against the Sunni Islamic countries were no longer heard in official speeches and in public gatherings. On the other hand there were disturbing rumors that the old guard and extremists were clinging to power and were up to something. He had received a report that several leading scientists and engineers had not been seen in public for some time. Russian agents had reported that collaborators within the Iranian administration hinted that a dramatic move is expected, but didn't know in which direction. One of the agents who had close ties in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was told the IRG was cashing many of its investments and converting their assets into dollars and Euros, as if expecting a catastrophic event. The FSB operators in Germany had heard about a very strange sample that was brought by Mossad for analysis at the ITU nuclear forensics laboratories, but had not been able to get any details about the results. There also seemed to be an increase in the traffic between heads of Western intelligence services. Although these exchanges were either on secure communication lines or in tete-a-tete meetings the very fact that their intensity grew was an indication that something was amiss.
Koliagin also didn't trust the Israelis. He saw the warm welcome the first two released hostages received and his political analysts spent days dissecting and interpreting every sentence in the Israeli PM's speech at the press conference. The repeated threats about the dire consequences of Iranian violations of the nuclear deal were in contrast to the general atmosphere of rapprochement. He felt the Israelis knew something and that this was not an unsubstantiated warning. He understood that the Israelis wanted to wrap up the release of the hostages, in particular the return of the PM's granddaughter, but wondered what they were willing to give the Iranians in return.