Israeli Minister: Military Strike on Iranian Nuclear Facilities Remains an Option
JERUSALEM, Israel – During a visit to Japan this week, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities has not been ruled out, Reuters reported.
Katz made the remarks in Tokyo where he is reportedly seeking support for President Trump's stronger stance against the Iranian nuclear weapons program.
"If international efforts led these days by U.S. President Trump don't help stop Iran attaining nuclear capabilities, Israel will act militarily by itself," Reuters quoted Katz as saying. "I asked the Japanese government to support steps led by President Trump to change the nuclear agreement," he added.
According to the report, Katz said Israel would like to eliminate the agreement's expiration date and apply stricter regulations on Iran's development of centrifuges to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels.
He also discussed Iranian plans to increase its military presence in Syria, especially along Israel's border in the Golan Heights. And he recommended cracking down on Iran's ballistic missile program.
"We will not allow Iran to transform Syria into forward base [of] sea harbors, air bases and Shia militias," Katz said. "We will act together with the United States and other countries in the world until they stop the ballistic missiles that threaten Israel."
Nearly two weeks ago, President Trump announced his decision not to re-certify Iranian compliance with the U.S.-led nuclear deal signed in July 2015. Trump's decision provided Congress with a two-month window to reinstate economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
President Trump plans to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on November 5 in Japan.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to impose new sanctions on Hezbollah, Iran's Lebanese-based proxy.
In 2007, Israeli pilots bombed a suspected nuclear reactor site in Syria, as it did more than 35 years earlier in a 1981 strike against an Iraqi nuclear facility.
