Tel Aviv declares preparation for war with Iran

Tel Aviv declares preparation for war with Iran

Publication time: 17 March 2009, 13:48

As Israeli talks of war on Iran gain momentum, Israel's military Chief of Staff says the army must prepare for a military aggression.

In a meeting with top US diplomats on Monday, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said Israel could not live with a nuclear Iran and that an Israeli military strike was a "serious" option in retarding the country's progress.

Ashkenazi -- whose requests to meet with President Barack Obama and his American counterpart Admiral Mike Mullen was turned down -- made the remarks in a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her designated US envoy to the Persian Gulf, Dennis Ross.

The Israeli general and the American hosts discussed the Iranian issue shortly after reports revealed that the Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu plans a "major military confrontation" in the next few months.

Israel, believed by many to be the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, says Iran and its nuclear program pose an "existential threat" to Tel Aviv.

Under the claim, Israeli officials in the military and the government regularly threaten to launch aerial strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure.

Ashkenazi added that any final decision on Iran would be made by the government. He, however, said that he had been tasked with drawing up contingency plans since a military operation was a 'concrete possibility'.


Source: Agencies

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