Netanyahu admits possibility of military action against Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has said that one of the most important ways of stopping Iran to get nuclear weapons is a credible military threat.

He made the remarks in an interview with CNN on January 31, Caliber.Az reports.

“I think the only way that you can stop or abstain from getting nuclear weapons is a combination of crippling economic sanctions, but the most important thing, is a credible military threat,” he said.

Biden and Netanyahu have a complicated relationship, especially over Iran. Netanyahu clashed with former US President Barack Obama over negotiations with the Palestinians, then again more openly over the Iran nuclear deal – which Biden would like to re-enter, CNN said.

Netanyahu explained his position on Iran, saying, “If you have rogue regimes that are (intending to get) nuclear weapons, you can sign 100 agreements with them, it doesn’t help.”

Iran has said its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes and that it formally halted its weapons program, but US officials warned Iran’s uranium enrichment activities have gone far beyond the parameters of the failed 2015 nuclear deal since former US President Trump exited it. Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief warned that Tehran has amassed enough material for “several nuclear weapons” and urged diplomatic efforts to restart to prevent such a scenario.

Another point of contention among US allies has been Israel’s ambivalent stance on Ukraine. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel has been performing a diplomatic balancing act in relations with Moscow.

Although it has officially condemned the invasion and regularly sends aid to Ukraine, Israel has yet to send the Ukrainians weapons and has been criticized for not being more forceful in its criticism of Russia.

Israel does not want to upset Russia when the Israeli air force is looking to hit targets across the border in Syria. Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against its neighbour in recent years, mostly aimed at disrupting Iran’s supply of precision-guided missile technology to Hezbollah.

Netanyahu referenced this complicated scenario to Tapper, adding that Israel has been “taking action against certain weapons development” in Iran. He however refused to confirm or deny whether Israel was behind drone attacks at a military plant in Iran’s central city of Isfahan over the weekend.

“I never talk about specific operations… and every time some explosion takes place in the Middle East, Israel is blamed or given responsibility – sometimes we are sometimes we’re not.”