Israel’s military seeking more money for a (possible) war with Iran

This comes as Iran pursues its uranium enrichment programme. Nuclear talks in Vienna are on hold until Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, takes office. Israel’s military wants to be ready for pre-emptive attacks. Netanyahu accused of failing to fund readiness against the threat.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Israel’s military has reportedly asked for a significant funding boost, to the tune of billions of shekels, to prepare for war with Iran or, at least, to get ready for a pre-emptive strike.

This comes as a response to Tehran's decision to “push“ on its uranium enrichment programme and suspend nuclear talks in Vienna until the transfer of power is completed in early August between the outgoing president, moderate Hassan Rouhani, and the winner of last June’s presidential elections, extreme right-winger Ebrahim Raisi.

The request for more money came yesterday, during early state budget talks, which Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wants to see approved in the coming months.

For Israeli political and military leaders, indirect talks underway on restarting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria, between Iranian and US officials are doomed to fail.

According to Israeli TV Channel 12, citing an unnamed source in the Jewish State’s security establishment, the military is preparing to target sites in Iran within a few months if nuclear talks collapse.

The military's goal is to nip in the bud Iran’s nuclear ambitions and prevent it from producing an atomic bomb, a goal Tehran has strongly denied having for years.

For Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz, “Against the greatest threat – Iran arming itself with a nuclear weapon – we have no choice but to expand our force build-up, to continue to rely on our human capital and to adapt our capabilities and our plans.”

Meanwhile, the former Israeli Prime Minister and current opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, certainly not someone soft on the Islamic Republic, is now accused of ignoring the Iranian threat.

Netanyahu did not allocate the funding required for any complex operations in case of conflict, unnamed security sources told Channel 12.

The inaction of the former administration could lead to a scenario where Israel is effectively “waving a gun without any bullets in it,” this according to defence officials.

Prior to the report, Netanyahu published an op-ed in Israel Hayom arguing that the new Bennett-led government was “silent” while “the Iranians are rushing toward the bomb.”

• israel
• iran
• nuclear programme
• defence budget
• naftali bennett
• benyamin netanyahu
• benny gantz