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Chief of Staff Kochavi: Israel's military prepares for "limited confrontation" with Iran

2019-12-25T14:08:10.615Z


Israeli chief of staff Kochavi is watching Iran’s nuclear program and regional activities with concern. The regime in Tehran would not be allowed to "settle in Syria or Iraq".



Israel, according to its chief of staff, has to be prepared for a "limited confrontation" with Iran. "We are preparing for it," military chief Aviv Kochavi said at a security conference near Tel Aviv, according to Israeli media reports.

The government in Tehran is advancing its nuclear program by enriching uranium and working on missiles that could reach Israeli territory. There is a risk that Iran will soon be able to build an atomic bomb given the lack of response from the West.

In addition, Iran has recently been pursuing a much more aggressive policy in the region, especially against the Arab Gulf states, the military chief said. However, there is "no reaction, no counterattacks and no deterrence in the face of these Iranian actions" - except by Israel.

Given the changing reality, "we understand that the possibility of a limited confrontation - or more than that - between us and Iran is not unlikely," said Kochavi.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards are allegedly massively smuggling weapons into Iraq

"We will not allow Iran to settle in Syria or Iraq," said Kochavi. Special forces from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards would smuggle advanced weapons systems into Iraq every day. "We cannot allow that." Israeli media interpreted this as the first official confirmation of the alleged Israeli air strikes on military bases in Iraq in July.

Chief of Staff Kochavi said, according to the Haaretz newspaper, that the Israeli military is making enormous efforts "to prevent the enemy from equipping itself with high-precision weapons, even if that means confrontation."

The Israeli Air Force has attacked targets in Syria several times in the past and has confirmed this with reference to its own security interests. In August, the military said it was shelling a village near Damascus to prevent an attack by Iranian "killer drones" on its territory. Iran and Shiite Hezbollah support President Bashar al-Assad's government forces in the Syrian civil war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously described Iran as "the greatest threat to Israel's existence". His country is determined to stave off this threat, Netanyahu said in June 2019.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2019-12-25

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