But the agency’s report has also put Israel in a corner, documenting that Iran is close to crossing what Israel has long said is its red line: the capability to produce nuclear weapons in a location invulnerable to Israeli attack.
With the report that the country has already installed more than 2,100 centrifuges inside a virtually impenetrable underground laboratory, and that it has ramped up production of nuclear fuel, officials and experts here say the conclusions may force Israel to strike Iran or concede it is not prepared to act on its own.
Martin S. Indyk, a former United States ambassador to Israel who is now foreign policy director of the Brookings Institution, said he was struck that Israel had in recent weeks begun to distribute gas masks, examine bomb shelters and enact a text-messaging warning system.
