Former Mossad Chief Argues that Israel Must Attack Iran Within a Year, or Risk Attack Itself

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Former Mossad Chief Argues that Israel Must Attack Iran Within a Year, Or Risk Attack Itself

June 29, 2008 (EIRNS)—In an interview with Britain's Sunday Telegraph, former Mossad chief Shabtai Shavit argued that Israel must be prepared to attack Iran within the next 12 months, before Iran has a nuclear bomb. Otherwise, he warned, Israel itself could be the target of an Iranian attack.

Adding to the drumbeat for a Western attack on Iran, Shavit, who serves as an advisor to the Knesset's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was certain that Iran would use nuclear weapons against Israel as soon as it had attained that capability.

Time is running out, he said. "We should be prepared. We should do whatever necessary on the defensive side, on the offensive side, on the public opinion side for the West, in case sanctions don't work. What's left is a military action."

Shavit indicated that were Barack Obama elected President in the U.S., Israel would probably have to move up its timetable for striking Iran. John McCain could be counted on to more readily attack Iran, but an American agreement isn't a pre-condition for launching an attack, he underscored.

The June 28 arrival in Israel of Adm. Michael Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was to meet with his Israeli counterpart, provoked considerable speculation that Israel might be seeking U.S. approval for such an attack, or that the two nations were jointly planning to strike Iran.