Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Israel is ready to launch military strikes against Iran, adding that there must be a global response to the continuing threat that the leading state sponsor of terrorism poses.
"Israel is ready to attack Iran, yes," Gantz told Ynet on Thursday.
"We are at a point where we need to take military action against Iran. The world needs to take action against Iran now."
Gantz's comments come amid growing tensions following a deadly Iranian drone strike on an Israeli-operated tanker off the coast of Oman.
Israel, along with the U.S. and the UK have blamed Teheran for the attack on the Mercer Street last week that killed two people.
Iran has denied involvement.
According to a Geostrategy-Direct.com report on Tuesday, Israel says it has intelligence information which links Iran to the fatal attack which killed two crewmen on the Mercer Street, one British and one Romanian.
“Iran already knows the price that we exact when someone threatens our security. The Iranians need to understand that it is impossible to sit peacefully in Teheran and from there ignite the entire Middle East. That is over,” said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Gantz on Wednesday had told diplomats from UN Security Council member states that Iran will be able to break out to a nuclear weapon within 10 weeks.
Gantz had said that Iran has "violated all of the guidelines" in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which Team Biden wants to restore.
“Therefore,” Gantz added, “it is time to act. The world must apply economic sanctions and take operative action against the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps,” which has targeted shipping vessels.
The U.S. and Great Britain are among five of the 15 Security Council members with veto power, along with France, Russia and China. Any action against Iran would need the support of Russia and China, which have often opposed such steps in the past.
Iranian maritime attacks this year include on the Israeli-owned vessels the Helios Ray in February and the Hyperion Ray in April. The CSAV Tyndall, previously owned by an Israeli, was attacked in June.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that he sees an emboldened Iran acting in a negative manner around the Middle East, endangering shipping, arming Yemen’s Houthis and contributing to political deadlock in Lebanon.
“All around the region, Iran continues to be emboldened,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at a virtual conference of the Aspen Security Forum on Tuesday, alluding to reports that Iranian-backed forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of the UAE.
“Iran is extremely active in the region with its negative activity, whether it’s continuing to supply the Houthis with weapons or endangering shipping in the Arabian Gulf, which we have got reports coming in today that may indicate additional activity there,” Faisal said.
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