‘Historic mistake’ for Israel not to directly attack Iran: ex-DM

“We need to go for the head [of the snake], for Iran,” Mossad chief David Barnea reportedly said.

By World Israel News Staff

Former defense minister MK Benny Gantz urged the Israeli government to launch a direct attack on Iran, saying that targeting the country on its soil is the only way to effectively end proxy attacks on Israel.

“Today, we have the opportunity to catalyze a ‘strategic flip’ against Iran and its proxies,” Gantz said on Monday evening at a press conference ahead of a meeting of his National Unity party.

“We must capitalize on the opportunity. It would be a strategic mistake of historic proportion not to,” he added.

Gantz stressed that Israel should build an international coalition aimed at stopping Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, citing recent reports that Iran should already be considered a nuclear state.

“The nations of the region together with the United States must work together with Israel to remove the threat of a nuclear Iranian regime,” Gantz said.

Hebrew-language Channel 13 reported that Mossad chief David Barnea is pushing for a direct strike on Iran.

“We need to go for the head [of the snake], for Iran — if we only hit the Houthis, it’s not certain we’ll manage to stop them,” the network quoted Barnea as saying.

Barnea refused to confirm or deny the accuracy of the report.

According to Channel 12 News, Iran is gearing up for an Israeli attack on its soil in the near future.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reticent on any plans for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“I’m not going to talk about that,” Netanyahu said, after being asked whether the IAF will target Tehran’s nuclear development sites.

“I’ve always said the jury’s out, still out on all of us, and I don’t exclude myself,” Netanyahu added.