Military action against Iran always on the table: Israel

A senior official of the Israeli regime has threatened to take military action against Iran in the wake of the recent understanding reached between Tehran and six global powers.

Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Yuval Steinitz told reporters on Monday that military options against the Islamic Republic are still “on the table,” Israeli local media reported.

The development comes less than a week after the landmark deal in which Iran and the P5+1 states – the US, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany – issued a joint statement at the end of eight days of sensitive nuclear negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2.

"It was on the table. It’s still on the table. It’s going to remain on the table," Steinitz was quoted as saying in local press reports.

"Israel should be able to defend itself, by itself, against any threat. And it’s our right and duty to decide how to defend ourselves, especially if our national security and even very existence is under threat," he further said without explaining the nature of the threat.

The official had made similar remarks last week before a public radio audience, saying “if we have no choice …the military option is on the table,” according to Israel’s Ynetnews.

The development comes as top Iranian authorities have repeatedly made clear that in case of any military action against its nuclear facilities by the Israeli regime or the US, Tehran’s response would be immediate and far-reaching.

Meanwhile, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech last month before the US Congress aimed at derailing the Iran-P5+1 talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted that the Israeli premier and his supporters were bent on generating "an atmosphere of hysteria" and "fear-mongering."

"The only explanation that you can have here is that some people consider peace and stability as an existential threat," Zarif said on March 6, adding, "Because a deal cannot be threatening to anybody unless you want conflict and tension and mistrust and crises."

This is while Netanyahu has claimed that the Tel Aviv regime “will not allow Iran to become a nuclear power,” according to Steinitz, while also calling for a nuclear-free Middle East despite the fact that Israel is widely reported to be the only possessor of nuclear warheads in the region and does not allow any international inspection of its nuclear facilities.

Moreover, a classified document released by the US Defense Department last month revealed that the Israeli regime has been developing nuclear weapons for decades.

Meanwhile, Washington has also threatened Iran with possible military action following the historic nuclear agreement as US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter stated last Tuesday that "the military option certainly will remain on the table."

“One of my jobs is to make sure all options are on the table," he added during an interview with US-based NBC news network.

MFB/NN/AS

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