Israel's military chief sent a stern warning to the Joe Biden administration to not rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal, which was helmed under former president Barack Obama in 2015 and threatened for a possible offensive against Iran if the the US approaches dealing with the Iranian nuclear program.
In an address to the Institute for National Security Studies, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi said if the Biden administration returns to the deal even with some improvements, Israel's military would prepare itself to launch an attack against Iran on its own if needed be. Kohavi called Biden's move to go ahead with the Iran Nuclear Deal as "bad operationally and it is bad strategically.''
Kohavi revealed he has instructed officials with a number of operational plans and will carry them out if Biden rejoins the accord with Iran. ''I instructed the army to prepare a number of operational plans in addition to the existing ones. We are taking care of these plans and will develop them during the coming year. Those who decide on carrying them out, of course, are the political leaders. But these plans have to be on the table."
The threat comes amid when Iran's cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei prodded the Biden administration to rejoin the deal and lift sanctions placed against the country by the Trump administration. ''The window of opportunity will not be open for long,'' said Rabiei hinting to the new administration that Iran is willing to get back with the atomic deal. For other Iranian leaders said they would wait ''indefinitely'' for the Biden administration to rejoin the deal.
The 2015 deal under Barack Obama put curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the easing of crippling economic sanctions, which was strongly opposed by Israel claiming there was no ''sufficient safeguards'' to reign in Iran's threat. However, the Trump administration added further economic sanctions against Iran crippling their economy and withdrew from the agreement in 2018. The move by the Trump administration was welcomed by Israel.
Joe Biden has repeatedly said during his presidential campaigns that he would rejoin the accord and tensions are high as Iran has the missile capability of up to a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), which is far enough to reach Israel and also the U.S. military bases in the region.
