14 July 2019; MEMO: Israel’s Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi yesterday said that Israel is preparing for a “possible” military confrontation with Iran and its military wings in the next two years.
Speaking to Israel Hayom, Hanegbi – who is also a member of Israel’s security cabinet – said “the possibility that there will be a military confrontation with Iran or its military arms is more likely than the possibility there will not be a war”.
He reiterated that the issue is not related to “whether or not, but to the appropriate time”.
The minister claimed that the war with Iran “has already moved from proxy war to direct war,” adding: “There will be a direct war between us [Israel] and Iran, direct or indirect war. This is impossible to be avoided and will get fiercer through time.”
Regarding Syria, Hanegbi said that there are 10,000 fighters serving under the leadership of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) and it is expected that Lebanese Hezbollah’s arsenal currently includes 160,000 rockets.
Discussing the reasons for war, Hanegbi said: “Israel will not continue to bear the price of no war, which means giving a green light for Iranians to reposition themselves in Syria […] We need to harm this reposition; otherwise, we will have a terror kingdom on our borders.”
Hanegbi added: “We want to let Iran know that its adventure to reposition in Syria is not useful and there is no hope for them to reposition there.” “They might think that we [Israel] will stop deterring, but this will never happen,” he added.
Explaining what he meant by “direct confrontation,” Hanegbi said: “We strike them and they respond without harming us. The Iranians are able to use rockets from Iraq and work from Lebanon or Iran itself.”
He concluded: “We will finish every confrontation with victory. We know how to protect ourselves from every threat we have, as we have defensive abilities which they do not have.”
