Israeli Foreign Minister: Military Option Against the Islamic Republic Must Be on the Table

Gideon Sa'ar, the Israeli Foreign Minister, emphasized the potential necessity of using military options to stop the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons. In an interview with Politico on Tuesday, March 7, he pointed out Iran's efforts to enrich enough uranium to create 'several bombs' and 'arm enriched nuclear materials,' considering the consequences of this development as widespread destabilization in the Middle East. Sa'ar, who was in Brussels for a meeting of the European Union-Israel Cooperation Council, stressed that 'we do not have much time' and added that failing to halt Iran's nuclear program would mean 'a disaster for Israel's security.' He stated that 'for Iran's nuclear program to be stopped before it becomes armed, a reliable military option must be on the table.' This senior Israeli official warned that otherwise, a 'nuclear competition in the Middle East' involving Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey would begin. Iran's nuclear activities continue amid concerns expressed by the United States and several countries around the world, including in Europe and the Middle East, regarding its dimensions. In this context, Donald Trump resumed the 'maximum pressure' campaign against the Islamic Republic on February 5 by signing an executive order. According to this directive, with the return of maximum pressure on Iran, its pathways to acquiring nuclear weapons will be blocked, and its destructive influence outside the country will be countered. The directive also states that Trump will not tolerate the Islamic Republic's possession of nuclear weapon capabilities and its sustained support for terrorism, especially against U.S. interests. Meanwhile, David Barnea, head of Mossad, revealed more details about the operation to explode Hezbollah's pagers, calling the group the Islamic Republic's operational arm at Israel's northern borders, and stated that Mossad has been preparing for the third Lebanon war for 19 years. In a speech, Barnea referred to the operation as a 'turning point' in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Previously, two senior former members of Israel's security and special operations agency, Mossad, in an exclusive interview with CBS's '60 Minutes,' explained that the installation of explosives in these devices had begun over a decade ago. According to one of these individuals, identified by the pseudonym 'Gabriel,' Mossad had managed to sell over 16,000 of these communication items to Hezbollah at a 'reasonable rate' by infiltrating the supply chain of these items.