Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) embraces the former director of Mossad, Meir Dagan (file photo)
The former Israeli spy agency chief warns Tel Aviv against any military aggression on Iran, calling for other approaches to impede Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
“An attack on Iran before you are exploring all other approaches is not the right way to do it,” Meir Dagan said in an interview with CBS's “60 Minutes” program, to be aired in full on Sunday.
Dagan called the Iranian government a “very rational one”, delineating that the version of rationality is “not exactly rational based on what I call Western thinking...” he added.
He also rejected the Western allegation that Iran is rushing towards producing a nuclear weapon, adding, “No doubt they (Iranians) are considering all the implications of their actions….I think at this point they are very careful on the project.”
However, in case there is a need for a military strike against Iran, it would be preferable for Israel to wait and allow the United States to act first, he opined.
“If I prefer that someone will do it, I always prefer that Americans will do it," Dagan noted.
The ex-spy chief has repeatedly cautioned that a war on Iran could fail to halt its nuclear energy program and would only engulf the Middle East in conflict. He has even described an Israeli airstrike on Iran's nuclear installations as “a silly idea that would not grant any advantage.”
The US, Israel and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used the allegation as a pretext to sway the UN Security Council into imposing four rounds of sanctions on Iran.
Tehran has categorically refuted the Western allegations, saying that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and a member of the International Atomic energy Agency, it has the right to acquire and develop atomic technology for peaceful purposes.
YH/AZ/GHN
