Gantz: Israel has improved its capabilities to attack Iran

(Patria) - Israel has improved its readiness to attack Iran, outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday, stating that the army is preparing for a strike on nuclear facilities. Speaking at a graduation ceremony for air force personnel who have just completed their training, Gantz said that pilots might one day be called upon to participate in such an offensive, Bloomberg reported.

“You may, in two or three years, fly to the east and participate in an attack on nuclear facilities in Iran, for which we are preparing while significantly increasing readiness in recent years,” Gantz said.

Israel is increasingly concerned that Russia's growing reliance on Iranian military potential in Ukraine could prompt Tehran to seek Russia's help for its nuclear program in return. Israel rejects Iran's claims that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and says it will take all necessary steps to prevent Iran from acquiring a bomb.

The parliament is expected to approve a new Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu today, following his victory in last month's elections. Gantz, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, will likely remain in parliament as a member of the opposition.

Israel destroyed an unfinished nuclear reactor in Syria in 2007. Iraq under Saddam Hussein had a developed nuclear program until Israel, an unrecognized nuclear state, ended its ambitions by destroying the Osirak research reactor in an airstrike in 1981, Bloomberg recalls.