Prime minister and defense minister reportedly unwilling to wait for Washington to back them up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are reportedly gearing up for a strike on Iran in the coming months, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.Fearing time is running out before the Iranian nuclear program reaches a point of no return in its drive to weaponize, the two may be looking to hit Iran before the US presidential elections in November, a move which could anger the US.
- According to the report in Yedioth on Friday, Barak brought up the issue of a strike on Iran during a recent meeting of military chiefs, but faced stiff opposition to a unilateral strike.
- The report added that the two are unwilling to rely on Washington protecting Israel from a nuclear Iran, a fact alluded to in a recent speech by Netanyahu, who said only Israel could defend itself.
- At the same time, an unnamed Israeli official told Haaretz that the Iranian threat was sharper than that which faced Israel on the eve of the Six-Day War in 1967.
- The official, whom Haaretz identified as somebody in a senior position, said Jerusalem would not look to push the US into the war by launching a unilateral strike.
- Netanyahu is reportedly steadfast in his commitment to hitting Iran. In a meeting with senior military figures last week, Netanyahu ran up against opposition to a strike. “I’m responsible, and if there’s a commission of inquiry later it’s on me,” he reportedly said, according to a number of the prime minister’s aides.
- On Thursday, Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Benny Gantz said the country needed to prepare for war “on multiple fronts.”
While Netanyahu and Barak reportedly prefer the United States lead a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, a complex sortie that would require over 100 fighter jets, refueling planes and possible international coordination, they have been increasingly hinting that Israel may have to go it alone.The US has reportedly been trying to prevent a unilateral strike, which analysts say would prove mostly ineffectual. On Thursday, US National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor told reporters that there was still time for diplomacy to work.
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