Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has warned that his country will be “independent” against Iran if necessary, as President Joe Biden continues his plan to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), despite opposition of American conservatives and allies in the Middle East.
Gantz – who is currently defense minister as part of a power-sharing agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – told Fox News Radio on Thursday that Israel is constantly drawing up plans to attack Iran and deny Tehran nuclear weapons, with or without US support.
Gantz’s warning comes after weeks of escalating tensions in the Middle East, with attacks on US and Iraqi troops by Iraqi Iraqi military groups, US and Israeli airstrikes in Syria, an attack on Israeli shipping in the Gulf of Oman, and intensified operations against Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Biden’s government appears to be trying to keep low-intensity regional conflict separate from JCPOA talks, but Gantz told Fox News Radio that Israel did not. “We must not put aside all local aggression,” Gantz said, noting incidents in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Iran’s influence on Islamic State forces in the besieged Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
“We are very ready all the time,” Gantz said. “The problem with Iran needs to be resolved.” Asked if the country had strike plans ready for use, the defense minister said his forces were constantly reviewing the situation.
“We’re working on it,” Gantz said. We have it in our hands, of course, but we will continue to improve them to the highest professional level possible. ‘
Gantz would take over as Israeli prime minister in November 2021 under the power-sharing agreement. But Gantz’s Blue and White coalition is on track to register a poor result in the country’s upcoming election – the fourth in two years – which will end its leadership hopes.
Despite the political chaos, Israeli leaders are largely united with Iran. Netanyahu and Gantz are both strong critics of the JCPOA, arguing that Iran cannot be trusted to abide by any agreement and that the Obama-era agreement was too soft.
Netanyahu was a key supporter of the withdrawal of former President Donald Trump in 2018, and he and other Israeli leaders put pressure on Biden to walk away from the deal.
Netanyahu said last month that Israel would suspend Iran’s nuclear program “with or without” Biden’s revived agreement, while Israeli army chief Aviv Kohavi said in January that his forces were drawing up attack plans on the country.
Israel is unlikely to come on board with any U.S. re-entry into the JCPOA, which considers the country inherently flawed and poses a threat to its strategic position. Observers have suggested that Israel may act unilaterally against Iran, even without US permission, for example military strikes or cyber attacks against Iranian nuclear facilities.
Israel has previously attacked nuclear sites in Syria, Iraq and Iran, while Israeli agents have reportedly killed several Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade, including top researcher Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
“American policy must be an American policy, and Israeli policy must remain the policy of Israel,” Gantz said. “The only thing I would suggest is that my American colleagues do not practice what I usually call ‘strategic wink,'” he added. “The threat to the Iranians is real.”
“Israel will never allow Iran to be able to get nuclear power, or wherever it is close,” Gantz told Fox News Radio. “If the world stops them before, it’s very good. But if not, we must stand independent. And we must defend ourselves.”
The government of Biden and Tehran has been caught up on who will take the first step to revive the JCPOA. Iran wants Biden to lift all Trump-era sanctions imposed after the US withdrawal from the 2018 agreement before scaling back its core activity in line with the JCPOA. But the White House wants Iranian nuclear compliance before any sanctions easing.
The US has proposed new talks with JCPOA signatories, but Iran has rejected the offer and demanded sanctions easing before any negotiations.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Thursday that Iran “should not wait for anything because we have said very clearly that we are prepared to have a constructive conversation. This is the offer that was on the table. . “
“If Iran resumes full compliance with the JCPOA, the United States will be prepared to do the same,” Price said.
JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images