FM Katz: Israel bracing for possible military confrontation with Iran

Rouhani warns Iran will increase uranium enrichment level to whatever level it wants after July 7th.

Anna Ahronheim

July 3, 2019 12:56

FM Katz: Israel bracing for possible military confrontation with Iran

Foreign Minister Israel Katz speaks at The Jerusalem Post 8th Annual Conference in New York. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Israel is preparing for possible military involvement in any possible military escalation in the Persian Gulf as tensions continue to rise between Iran and the United States, Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned.”It should be taken into account that mistaken calculations by Iran are liable to bring about a shift from the ‘gray zone’ to the ‘red zone’ – that is, a military conflagration,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying on Tuesday.

“We must be prepared for this, and thus the State of Israel continues to devote itself to building up its military might for the event that it will have to respond to escalation scenarios.”

His comments came a day after Tehran said it had breached the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and had exceeded the 300kg limit on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium.

Speaking to Army Radio later in the day Katz warned that while the sanctions imposed by Washington might prevent a clash, Israel could act unilaterally to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“Iran has no chance in this war,” he said. “Therefore there is an opportunity there, through the tough economic pressure and the comprehensive sanctions, to prevent war, to achieve the objectives without war.”

But he added, “Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, even if it has to act alone on that.”On Wednesday Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said that the Islamic Republic would increase its uranium enrichment level to whatever level it wants beyond the cap of 3.67% set in the JCPOA in 2015 if the remaining signatories of the deal-the U.K., France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union-do not fulfill their promises.

Rouhani’s warning came a day after the diplomatic chiefs of the European Union, France, Germany and Britain urged Iran to reverse its decision and that they were considering their next steps.

“We have been consistent and clear that our commitment to the nuclear deal depends on full compliance by Iran,” said the joint statement signed by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

“We regret this decision by Iran, which calls into question an essential instrument of nuclear non-proliferation. We urge Iran to reverse this step and to refrain from further measures that undermine the nuclear deal,” it added.Last month, US President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran including on the office of the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and in April it designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organisation.Hundreds of airstrikes on IRGC and Hezbollah targets in war-torn Syria have been blamed on Israel, which has repeatedly warned that it will not allow Iran to entrench itself in Syria which would allow for it attack Israel.In late June the IDF was reported to have stepped up its alert status amid concerns that Iran might try to attack Israel through one of it’s proxies. Israel is surrounded by Iranian proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, militia groups in Syria and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Between them, there are tens of thousands of rockets that can strike deep into Israel’s home front. While an attack by Iranian proxies is a major concern for the IDF, it’s Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs that worry Israel’s defense establishment the most.

Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/FM-Katz-Israel-bracing-for-possible-military-confrontation-with-Iran-594462.