Make sure Iran never has nuclear bomb, Gantz tells US Army, urging cooperation

“We will continue to deepen the cooperation, to expand the necessary actions to harm Iran’s couriers, and to make sure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon,” Gantz stated.

By World Israel News Staff

Speaking at U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters in Tampa, Florida Thursday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned against the Iranian nuclear threat ahead of the imminent signing of a renewed agreement between the Islamic Republic and the West.

“We all understand the need to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear umbrella, under which it is and its proxies will spread terror and threaten the world and the Middle East,” Gantz said.

On a quick visit to the U.S. in a last-ditch effort to prevent a new deal, Gantz was received in Florida by CENTCOM head Gen. Michael Kurilla and had a meeting at the headquarters, where they discussed increased cooperation and defense in the region – at sea, in the air and on land as well as cyber security – in the face of aggression, chiefly from Iran.

Gantz also toured the Central Military District and visited the KC-135 refueling squadron of the US Air Force.

“Israel’s cooperation with CENTCOM and the countries of the region is a game changer in the ability to maintain security, stability and peace in the Middle East, especially against Iran and its proxies,” Gantz said, the Hebrew-language Ynet news site reported.

“We will continue to deepen the cooperation, to expand the necessary actions to harm Iran’s couriers, and to make sure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon.”

Gantz is also slated to meet with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

“This will also be the message I will convey at the meeting with Sullivan,” the defense minister said. “During the meeting, the Israeli minister will make operative proposals to put pressure on Iran, and will of course express opposition to the very existence of the agreement and the elements in the conditions specified.”

Gantz reiterated Israel’s strong opposition to the nuclear deal.

“We will do everything we can to influence the agreement,” he said on Wednesday, ahead of his trip to America. Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, opposition leader and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad director David Barnea, among others, joined in the plea to reject the deal – adding however, that Israel would not be obligated to abide by any such agreement.

Israel has long been warning about the dangers of the deal, noting Iran’s progress in uranium enrichment. In April, Gantz called for a “Plan B” over the deal, although he did not specify what that would entail.

The defense minister will be flying to Japan on Saturday night.

Benny GantzCENTCOMIran nuclear dealIranian threatIsraeli diplomacyuranium enrichmentUS-Israel relations