Iran’s continued nuclear advances could leave Israel with no choice but a preemptive attack, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi said Tuesday.
“Iran has progressed in recent years with enriching uranium more than ever before,” he said. “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.”
Iran is involved in “everything around us and with everyone who is against us,” including strategy, intelligence and funding, Halevi said. “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.”
Honing in on the many threats Israel faces, Halevi said if the IDF finds itself in a multi-front war, it would strike its enemies on all fronts much harder. This would be necessary to cope with the higher complexity of fighting on multiple fronts, he said.
Regarding normalization of ties, Halevi said he did not view the recent deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia as a strategic change that would set back Israeli goals.
A number of new generation Iranian centrifuges are seen on display during Iran’s National Nuclear Energy Day in Tehran, Iran April 10, 2021 (credit: IRANIAN PRESIDENCY OFFICE/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY)/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)Some “states [Saudi Arabia] have come closer to Iran,” he said. “I don’t think these states trust Iran or want true peace [with it]. This [the new Saudi deal] comes from wanting to reduce the temperature a bit within the region to avoid a bigger confrontation.”
Halevi calls on haredim to draft to the IDF
Addressing issues of the IDF and Israeli society internally, Halevi called on the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community and its leaders to make a greater effort to send more recruits to the army.
Haredim who have joined the army return to their communities “no less haredi,” and they are better able to contribute to their communities and the country, he said.
Transitioning to other army and society issues, Halevi said IDF reservists in the recent period have shown up in very high numbers, dispelling fears that fights over the judicial overhaul issue would break the army apart. The IDF must be kept out of politics at all costs. he said.
In addition, Halevi said the IDF must continue the mandatory draft to continue to remain strong and safe in the dangerous region that is the Middle East. Other countries that may have recently dropped their mandatory draft were in much safer and lower-risk regions, he said.
The threat posed by Hezbollah
Moving on to the threat posed by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Halevi said Israel wants to avoid war, but it should also always be ready to consider military moves “that can yield advantages” in the ongoing standoff. “Relative deterrence of Hezbollah [from attacking Israel] has been achieved, but this does not mean forever,” he said.
On one hand, “Hezbollah is very deterred from fighting a big war versus Israel,” Halevi said. But on the other hand, Hezbollah “thinks it understands how we think, which can lead it to dare and challenge us in scenarios where we won’t go to war” in response.
Halevi said all of this means that Israel must “take action to carry out surprises when needed” to make Hezbollah feel less secure about being daring against Israel.
Halevi’s comments come one day after OC IDF Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva said Nasrallah might miscalculate his understanding of Israel and accidentally drag both sides into a larger conflict.
“We have a very good level of readiness in the North for any war,” Haliva said. “It gets better every day.”
Although any fight with Hezbollah would be very difficult for the IDF and the Israeli home front, “it would be very hard for Lebanon to recover after such a war,” he said.
Turning his attention to Syria and Syrian President Bashar Assad, Halevi said: “Any state that got closer to Iran is failing and falling apart. He should take this into account.”
Moreover, “in recent weeks, Assad came for the first time in 12 years to an Arab League meeting,” he noted. “He is starting hesitatingly to return to the region,” leaving open the question of whether moderate Sunni states may draw Syria away from the dangerous Iranian Shi’ite axis.
Regarding the West Bank, Halevi said, despite the current ongoing waves of terrorist attacks since March 2022, it is better to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, so that it will maintain order, rather than weaken it, which could create more chaos or pave the way for Hamas to take over, as it did in Gaza.
Halevi also recalled what he said were many IDF achievements against Islamic Jihad in Gaza earlier this month, when the IDF killed six senior commanders in a five-day exchange of rocket fire and airstrikes between the sides.
Hamas stayed out of the fighting, but the IDF has said this does not mean the group has ceased to be a terrorist group. Rather, the IDF has said Hamas temporarily is enjoying additional stability and monetary benefits from various economy-friendly Israeli policies, Halevi said.
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