EXCLUSIVE: The Israeli military is updating plans to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and is prepared to act independently, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Fox News.
Israel has identified several targets within Iran that would hinder its ability to develop a nuclear bomb.
“If the world stops them first, it is very good. But if not, we must remain independent and defend ourselves,” said Gantz in his first interview with an American media outlet.
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Amid growing regional tension over Iran’s proxy action and violations of the 2015 nuclear deal, intelligence assessments say Iran is likely to target Israel using prosecutors in Syria and Lebanon during 2021.
Gantz said the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, supported by Iran, owns hundreds of thousands of rockets. A classified target map shared with Fox News shows many of the rockets in civilian areas along the Israeli border.
“This is a target map. Each of them has been legally, operationally verified in terms of intelligence and we are ready to fight,” added Gantz.
In an interview with Fox News, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz shares a classified map of missile locations controlled by the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
(Photo: Fox News)
The Israel Defense Forces’ annual intelligence briefing indicated that Israel is preparing for several days of fighting with Hezbollah. Local media reports said 3,000 Lebanese targets would be hit every day during the next conflict, with the aim of killing 300 Hezbollah fighters every 24 hours.
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Israel is expected to continue attacking Iranian-backed groups in Syria, which Gantz said helped facilitate the transfer of arms to Lebanon.
Since the beginning of 2020, Israel has hit more than 500 Iranian-linked sites in Syria with air strikes, according to Israeli chief of staff Aviv Kochavi.
Last week, US President Biden ordered an additional air strike in Syria after several rocket attacks against American interests in Iraq.
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Although the Biden government has signaled its willingness to return to the nuclear deal with Iran, Israeli officials, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Gantz, believe that the issue of Iranian powers of attorney should be addressed in any future agreement.
“American policy must be American policy, and Israeli policy must remain Israeli policy,” said Gantz.