'When it comes to security, Israel will take dramatic steps' - Yoav Limor

by Yoav Limor

Head of the IDF Planning Directorate Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer tells Israel Hayom that "Israel will do whatever is best for Israel" if it feels Iran threatens its existence, even if it means defying the U.S. • "Any true partner would accept that," he says.

 

Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer | Photo credit: Ziv Koren

When asked whether he could feasibly envision a situation in which Israel's air force bombs an Iranian nuclear facility contrary to U.S. directives, Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer told Israel Hayom that "since it has happened in the past, I have no reason to believe it won't happen again." 

Sheffer, the head of the Israel Defense Forces Planning Directorate, warned of the perils of the nuclear deal currently being negotiated between Iran and key world powers. "The agreement, the way it is coming together at this time, will not be good for Israel. If ultimately an agreement is in fact signed, we will have to ask ourselves, 'Okay, what are we going to do with this?' If someone builds a bomb and at the same time declares that Israel has no right to exist, we have to think about how to respond." 

Asked whether Israel could take dramatic steps in obvious defiance of the American position, Sheffer said that "when it comes to our national security -- yes. Where Israel feels its existence depends on action, we will take it."

"I think that any true partner would accept that," he said. "Right now we have no partner in our efforts to prevent Iran's nuclear ambitions. You asked me what Israel would do if it had to do something about it, and my answer is that Israel would do whatever is right for Israel." 

"The Iranians are unequivocally playing a game. They constantly ask themselves how they can make sure to achieve nuclear weapons. I don't know if they will do it tomorrow or the next day, but there is no doubt that the idea is to get their hands on nuclear capability," he said. 

When asked whether Tehran was lying when they declared they did not seek nuclear weapons, Sheffer replied: "I think that if you add one word it would complete the puzzle. Iran does not seek nuclear weapons now. But a country that doesn't want any nuclear capability can find other ways of producing nuclear energy for civilian purposes. It abides by the rules -- all the inspection rules and all the oversight rules. That is not the case with Iran."

Yoav Limor

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=24579

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