24 July 2020; MEMO: The former head of the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, Shabtai Shavit, said Israel cannot prevent Iran from joining the nuclear weapons club, however it can deter it from using the bomb.
In a lengthy interview with the Times of Israel, Shavit said: “I’m not one of those who say that the moment they [the Iranians] have a bomb they will physically threaten Israel’s existence. No. But a state with the bomb can use it to create all kinds of axes of influence to advance its interests.”
Shavit explained that Tehran wants to enhance its nuclear capabilities just like North Korea did to create immunity for itself, not only against Israel but also against the US, Turkey and mainly Iraq.
“They [Iranians] didn’t emerge with flying colors from the eight-year [Iran-Iraq] war [in the 1980s]. The results of the war were the trigger for the Iranians to make the strategic decision to go for the whole gamut of non-conventional weapons — not only nuclear. Nuclear, ballistic missiles, chemical weapons, biological, cyber… Cyber too, in professional terminology, is part of the non-conventional armory,” he added.
