Israeli Army Chief: We’re ‘Accelerating’ Plans to Attack Iran’s Nuke Program

The Israeli military’s chief of staff on Monday warned that the army was accelerating  plans for a potential attack against Iran’s nuclear program.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is “accelerating operational planning and preparedness to deal with Iran and the military nuclear threat. Thankfully, the budget that was approved [last week] makes it possible to contend with a variety of threats,” IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee according to a translation of his remarks by The Times of Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz also said Israel will conduct operations that “haven’t been seen in the past” in the event of war.

Last month the Israeli Air Force began training for an attack on Iran’s nuclear program at the start of 2022.

The Israeli military has stepped up measures to counter the threat posed by Iran as diplomatic efforts to restore the tattered 2015 nuclear deal have floundered in recent months.

The government has earmarked $1.5 billion for a potential strike against Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli media reported.

“In the past year we’ve continued to act against our enemies in missions and secret operations throughout the entire Middle East. The IDF will continue to act to remove threats and will respond forcefully to any violation of [Israeli] sovereignty, in Gaza or in the north,” Kohavi said.

According to Gantz, while Israel was “working continuously to prevent war,” in the eventuality that war erupts, “we will be prepared to carry out operations that we haven’t seen in the past, with means we didn’t have in the past, that will hit the heart of terror [entities] and their capabilities.”

Iran’s military meanwhile, began its annual war games this week, less than a month before upcoming nuclear talks are expected to resume.