Iran’s nuclear sites are as vulnerable as they’ll ever be following Israel’s retaliatory strike on Tehran last month, according to the Jewish state’s new minister of defense.
“Iran, today, is more exposed than ever to damage to its nuclear facilities,” Israel Katz said during his first meeting with the Israeli Defense Forces General Staff Forum on Monday, according to the Times of Israel.
“There is a possibility to achieve the most important goal, to thwart and remove the threat of annihilation from hanging over the State of Israel,” he added, referencing Iran’s nuclear program.
Katz’s position stands as a clear outlier from his ousted predecessor, as Israel chose to avoid hitting Tehran’s nuclear and oil facilities during their retaliatory strike on Oct. 26, a decision urged by the US and Gulf states who feared it would trigger all-out war in the Middle East.
The attack, however, decimated Iran’s missile defense system, IDF officials said, leaving Tehran more vulnerable to a follow-up strike should it choose to retaliate.
And Iran has vowed to retaliate, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei allegedly saying that Israel’s attack was too big to ignore after the strike killed four troops and destroyed several of Tehran’s ballistic missile manufacturing plants.
“The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a tooth-breaking response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and to the resistance front,” Khamenei warned of the looming attack.
Katz’s suggestion that Israel may target Iran’s nuclear facilities came just hours after Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called on Israel to end its attacks on Iran, which was once a bitter rival.
Speaking at a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders on Monday, the Saudi Arabian ruler called on the international community to pressure Israel “to respect the sovereignty of the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran and not to violate its lands,” TOI reported.
MBS’s statement served as the latest sign that Iran and Saudi Arabia were easing relations after cutting all ties back in 2016.
Iran will be a top priority for President-elect Donald Trump when he takes office in January. Former US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said he anticipates Trump will apply “maximum pressure” by backing Israeli strikes on Iran and imposing sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports.
