Two Former Israeli Ministers Back Military Solution to Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

Leader of the opposition and former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a media statement as he leaves the prime minister's office after receiving a security update with Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid regarding the Iran nuclear deal in Jerusalem, Israel, 29 August 2022. (EPA)
Leader of the opposition and former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a media statement as he leaves the prime minister's office after receiving a security update with Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid regarding the Iran nuclear deal in Jerusalem, Israel, 29 August 2022. (EPA)
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Two Former Israeli Ministers Back Military Solution to Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

Leader of the opposition and former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a media statement as he leaves the prime minister's office after receiving a security update with Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid regarding the Iran nuclear deal in Jerusalem, Israel, 29 August 2022. (EPA)
Leader of the opposition and former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a media statement as he leaves the prime minister's office after receiving a security update with Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid regarding the Iran nuclear deal in Jerusalem, Israel, 29 August 2022. (EPA)

Israeli government and opposition leaders have brought the issue of Iran and confronting its nuclear project and all its military activities into their campaigns for the upcoming elections.

Two former ministers said that the “military option” is the only solution to confront Tehran, and that the Iranians “know that current prime minister, Yair Lapid, is not fit to lead Israel in such a war.”

According to the ministers, Israelis prefer a strong leader like former prime minister and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Lapid and Netanyahu held a meeting on Monday to discuss the revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the talks between Iran and world powers which appeared to have advanced in the past week.

After the briefing with Lapid, Netanyahu said he was “more concerned about Iran” than before the meeting. He accused Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz of failing to prevent a “disastrous Iran nuclear deal.”

Furthermore, he accused the government of “childishly working on a dangerous issue.”

He indicated that Lapid “is primarily committed to the US administration, not Israel's interests.”

“Iran has witnessed three decades of international efforts to deter its nuclear program and its military projects to dominate the Middle East. Yet no methods of action have worked so far,” said Yoav Galant, former minister of construction and housing.

“The only solution to stop it is to go to a military operation or to seriously threaten a military operation. Nothing else works. Everything else is just talk,” he added.

Former minister of strategic affairs, Yuval Steinitz echoed Galant’s statements on military pressure being the only way to get Iran to abandon its nuclear and regional ambitions.

“The world must admit that its diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions have failed to influence Iran to change its aggressive course, and there are no longer any pressure tools other than military pressure,” he told local radio on Tuesday.



Mojtaba Khamenei Says Closure of Strait of Hormuz Should be Used as 'Leverage'

(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
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Mojtaba Khamenei Says Closure of Strait of Hormuz Should be Used as 'Leverage'

(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used.

Khamenei called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” US bases, saying promised US protection is “nothing more than a lie.”

Khamenei did not appear on camera. Israeli intelligence assessed that he was likely wounded in the war’s opening salvo, which he said also killed his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and his father, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

US President Donald Trump has promised to “finish the job,” even as Iran is “virtually destroyed.” The first week of the war cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon.

“One point I must emphasize is that, in any case, we will obtain compensation from the enemy,” Khamenei said.

“If it refuses, we will take from its assets to the extent we deem appropriate, and if that is not possible, we will destroy its assets to the same extent.”

 

 

 

 


Russia Condemns Trump Comments on 'Takeover' of Cuba

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
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Russia Condemns Trump Comments on 'Takeover' of Cuba

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Russia condemned on Thursday what it called blackmail and threats by US President Donald Trump to initiate a "takeover" of Cuba, a traditional ally of Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would provide all possible political and diplomatic support to Cuba and called for a diplomatic solution to the tensions with Washington, Reuters reported.

Trump said on Monday that Cuba was in "deep trouble" and that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was dealing with the issue, which may or may not be a "friendly takeover."


Trump Says Stopping a Nuclear Iran More Important than Oil Prices

US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Trump Says Stopping a Nuclear Iran More Important than Oil Prices

US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was more important to him than controlling oil prices, Reuters reported.

"The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World," said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform.