Israel urged to attack Iran’s nuclear programme
Israel is under mounting pressure to attack Iran’s nuclear programme in response to the Islamic republic’s massive missile attack.
Naftali Bennett, the former prime minister, called on his country to “act now” against Tehran’s atomic initiatives in what he described as “the biggest opportunity in the past 50 years” to change the face of the Middle East.
“We must act now to destroy its nuclear project, destroy their major energy facilities and critically hit this terrorist regime,” Mr Bennett wrote on social media.
“The tentacles of that octopus are severely wounded – now’s the time to aim for the head,” he added.
Israel’s former prime minister was speaking after Iran launched around 180 ballistic missiles at his country in a long-range barrage.
The US said it would work with Israel to ensure there will be “consequences, severe consequences” for Tehran.
Israeli officials have used diplomatic backchannels to warn Iran that it would hit back against any attack by striking its nuclear or oil facilities, with no concern for potential casualties, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed officials.
Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East.
The leadership of Iran, which used to be good at chess, made a terrible mistake this evening.
We must act *now* to destroy Iran's nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to…— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) October 1, 2024
Security experts and former officials said the prospect that any Israeli retaliation could include strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme had increased.
Iranian officials have repeatedly claimed that Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, and subsequent operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, act as incentives for Tehran to develop an atomic bomb.
Yaakov Amidror, a retired general and former national security adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, told The New York Times an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities “should be considered”.
William Cohen, a former US defence secretary, said Israel will “conceivably” target the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme.
Experts described Israel as being freer to launch a much more significant retaliatory strike than it did in response to a Iranian missile and drone bombardment in April.
At the time, Israeli forces mounted a largely symbolic attack against air defence installations in Iran.
Danny Citrinowicz, a retired Israeli intelligence officer, suggested his country had held back because of the prospect of Iran using Hezbollah to retaliate.
But last week Israel used air strikes to kill the Lebanon-based terrorist group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a move which US officials said left it militarily weakened.
“Israel has much more free rein in the Iranian context than in April, as there’s essentially no more threat that Hezbollah would join,” Mr Citrinowicz said.
Mr Cohen, who served under Bill Clinton’s administration, told CNN: “I think the Israelis feel that they have got the upper hand, and Iran and its proxies are on their heels, and now is the time to really take it to the source of their problems – and that’s Iran.
“I expect they would level a very serious attack in Iran, against a number of facilities, possibly their oil industry, but conceivably their nuclear facilities.
“This has been a prime objective of the Israelis at some point in time to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon. Iran seems to be getting closer to that possibility, and I think the Israelis are going to at least think seriously about whether now is the time to launch a military attack against the Iranians.”
Israel came close to attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2011 when there was intelligence to suggest the Islamic republic was nearing the development of an atomic bomb.
However, any plans for a pre-emptive strike at the time were called off, with Iran ultimately allowed to continue on its path to a bomb.
Tehran has said it would respond to any Israeli retaliation with further attacks, much larger in scale than the strike on Monday.
Its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are “fully prepared, both in terms of defence and offensive, to repeat this attack multiple times over”, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s top general, said in a broadcast on state television.