Tel Aviv ‘Greatly Accelerated’ Iran Strike Plans: Israeli Army Chief

• Tel Aviv ‘Greatly Accelerated’ Iran Strike Plans: Israeli Army Chief
  by https://www.dailysabah.com/
  Tel Aviv “greatly accelerated” its plans to strike Iran over its nuclear program that many nations worry Tehran will further develop despite international pressure and imposed sanctions, according to the Israeli army chief.
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  In an interview with Walla news website, Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi said that preparations for possible strikes on Iran are being intensified. He added that “a significant chunk of the boost to the defense budget, as was recently agreed, was intended” to minimize “Iranian presence in the Middle East” and target its proxies in the region such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Last month, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Tel Aviv was “ready to attack Iran,” adding Iran represented “a global challenge.”
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  “It’s a very complicated job with much more intelligence, much more operational capabilities, much more armaments. We’re working on all these things,” Kohavi told Walla news. “Iran seeks to pose a multi-front challenge to Israel by building up its power in Lebanon and Gaza, deploying militias in Syria and Iraq, and establishing supporters in Yemen,” Gantz said.
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  Tensions between Israel and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program have flared recently. In 2018, former United States President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran and reimposed sanctions in a move aimed to bring Tehran back to negotiations for what Trump hoped would be a “better” deal. Talks in the past months between Iran and Western powers in Vienna on reviving the nuclear deal have not achieved a breakthrough so far.
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  Meanwhile, U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin warned allies Tuesday that Tehran continues to ramp up tensions in the Middle East through its military activities. Speaking in Qatar’s capital of Doha, Austin said that “Iran’s support for terrorism and its willingness to supply increasingly lethal weapons to non-state groups undermines the regional stability that we all seek.”
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  “So we’re committed to working together to enhance regional security and regional defenses against destabilizing actions – including Iran’s nuclear aspirations,” he added.
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  Flames between Israel and another foe Hamas were also raging Tuesday. Israel launched airstrikes on what it said was a Hamas military site in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday after incendiary balloons were sent into Israeli territory, the Israeli army said. Fighter jets struck a Hamas rocket manufacturing workshop as well as a Hamas military compound in Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza, according to the army statement.
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