TEL AVIV, March 10: Former Israeli armed forces chief Moshe Yaalon told a Washington think tank on Thursday that Israel has the capacity to strike Iran and delay its nuclear program by several years, Israel TV reported.
The station’s Washington correspondent, Yaron Dekel, said he attended a speech by Mr Yaalon at the Hudson Institute, where he told the audience _ including at least one Iranian _ that a single assault would not be sufficient, and Israel was not limited to an air attack, a possible reference to submarine-fired missiles.
Mr Yaalon, who ended a three-year-term as military chief last June, added that Israel’s anti-missile defences would protect it from an Iranian counterattack.
Army Radio quoted unnamed Israeli government officials as saying such comments were irresponsible, that Mr Yaalon has now been outside defence circles for 10 months and is no longer up to date on operational plans.
OLMERT: Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Friday that Israel could not accept Iran becoming armed with a nuclear bomb, saying that the matter be dealt with by working harder and talking less.
“There are a lot of things we can say out loud,” he told public radio.
“We can in no way accept the possibility of an atomic bomb in Iranian hands. We need to work hard and say less,” Mr Olmert told the radio.—AP/AFP
