The Israeli army is preparing for all possible scenarios to strike Iran, announced spokesman Brigadier General Ran Kochav.
Kochav told Kan Bet radio channel that the army enhanced its level of readiness, and that the military and operational spheres are at the forefront of both preventing Iran from entrenching itself in the northern arena and preventing it from becoming a nuclear threshold state.
Sources close to Foreign Minister Yair Lapid confirmed that Israel had sent clear messages about its position regarding the nuclear talks between the major powers and Iran in Vienna.
The sources said that Lapid believes the Iranians attended Vienna talks after a five-month hiatus only to remove US sanctions, with no intention of stopping or slowing their progress toward a military nuclear program.
According to sources in Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Benny Gantz will travel to Washington next week to join efforts with the United States to confront the Iranian nuclear threat and the rest of Tehran’s plans that threaten Israel and regional countries.
Lapid concluded Wednesday a visit to Britain and France where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“Sanctions on Iran must not be removed. Sanctions must be tightened, a credible military threat must be applied because only that will stop its nuclear race,” Lapid stated.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned that Tehran seeks “to end sanctions in exchange for almost nothing” and keep its nuclear program intact while receiving billions of dollars once sanctions are lifted.
“Iran won’t just keep its nuclear program; from today, they’ll be getting paid for it,” Bennett cautioned.
Intelligence expert, Yossi Melman, quoted several Israeli officials who believe Israel lacks any real and credible capability to take military action.
Melman reported that the declarations by Bennett, Gantz, and Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi about Israel’s readiness for a military strike are “empty and pointless rhetoric, as they well know. They are playing pretend.”
In his article in Haaretz newspaper, the expert noted the parties participating in the Vienna talks, including Iran, Russia, China, European countries, and the US, “are quite aware” of Israel’s inability to strike militarily.
“A leader who toys with the enemy and employs deception and psychological warfare is considered clever. A leader who toys with the public is a schemer. A leader who deludes himself is dangerous.”
He explained that even the brand-new F-35 stealth aircraft, which were designed precisely for the mission of carrying out an airstrike in Iran, would need to refuel midair – slowing down the operation and increasing the danger of exposure.
“It’s a shame that tens of billions of shekels are being wasted readying the air force for an attack that will not happen.”
