Top Israeli defense officials warn Iran’s nuclear progress could trigger Israeli strike

Top officials in Israel’s Defense Ministry warned on Tuesday that Iran’s continued race toward nuclear weapons could potentially trigger an Israeli strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities.

Israel Defense Forces Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi stated that “Iran has progressed in recent years with enriching uranium more than ever before. We are looking closely at the various arenas that are part of the path to nuclear capabilities. There are negative potential trends on the horizon that could lead to [us] acting. We have the capabilities.”

Halevi further noted that the Jewish state has the capacity to attack Iran if diplomacy fails to stop Tehran’s nuclear weapons ambitions.

“We have the capability to strike Iran. We are not aloof to what Iran is trying to do around us. Iran also cannot be aloof to what we can do against it,” warned the IDF chief.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant echoed the warning against Iran while visiting the Gaza border region and the Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base on Tuesday.

Gallant praised the Israeli military’s recent performance against the Iranian-supported terrorist group, Islamic Jihad. However, the defense minister stressed that Israel’s main focus is to prevent the ayatollah regime from developing nuclear bombs.

“But the main goal, for which we are preparing, is more complex, more difficult, and more significant. You need to be prepared at any moment,” said Gallant.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has warned of the Iranian nuclear threat for years, told Israeli lawmakers that “we are constantly surprising Iran.” 

“Our enemies should know that we are ahead of you. Way ahead,” warned the Israeli premier while visiting an IDF intelligence facility.

The Iranian ayatollah regime openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Iran and Israel have been locked in a protracted shadow war that has lasted for years with no immediate end in sight. Due to the considerable geographic distance separating the two countries and Iran’s comparatively weak conventional military, most of the confrontation has so far been between Israel and Iran’s terrorist proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful terrorist proxy, recently invited the media to witness its live-fire wargame simulation, where it flexed its military muscles near the southern Lebanese border as a show of force against Israel.

Following Hezbollah’s recent drill, Commander of the IDF’s Military Intelligence Unit Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva, issued a warning stating that, “the chances of an escalation that could deteriorate into war is not low.”

“Nasrallah is close to making a mistake that could plunge the region into a big war. He is close to making this mistake from Lebanon or Syria,” cautioned Haliva at a security conference hosted by the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University near Tel Aviv.

Due to its power and proximity to Israel, Hezbollah could likely play a prominent role in any future military escalation between Iran and the Jewish state. Hezbollah reportedly possesses a vast arsenal of around 100,000 rockets capable of reaching any point within Israel’s territory.

In addition, Iran’s expansionist regional policy has led to more direct confrontations between Tehran and Jerusalem in Syria and beyond.

Addressing the Herzliya, Gallant warned that the Iranian regime is transforming civilian vessels into “floating terrorist bases.”

“These ships weigh tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands of tons,” Gallant explained. “They are capable of carrying all kinds of weapons, including drones, missiles, advanced assault and intelligence systems. They aim to form front-line terrorist bases in areas that are remote from the Iranian border,” stated Gallant, who is a retired general with solid combat experience as a naval commando in Israel’s elite naval unit, Shayetet 13.

ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg recently told the Newsmax outlet that the Biden administration’s display of foreign policy weakness has emboldened America’s enemies such as China, Russia and Iran.

Rosenberg argued that Washington’s comparatively weak response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only encouraged the Iranian regime to step up their aggressive expansionist policy across the Middle East region.