Anees Suheil Barghouti
05 June 2018•Update: 05 June 2018
JERUSALEM
Israel’s minister of intelligence has threatened Iran with the specter of a military coalition comprised of his country and western and Arab states, Israeli media reported Tuesday.
According to Israeli Radio, Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz warned Tehran that if it did not bow to U.S. demands regarding its nuclear-energy program, a coalition -- including Israel and western and Arab countries -- could be drawn up to confront it.
“There should be a clear statement [to this effect] by the president of the U.S. and all of the western coalition,” Katz said.
“Iran's announcement of its intention to accelerate uranium enrichment shows that Tehran's decision-makers are in a state of panic and that could enable them to build a nuclear bomb,” he said.
Katz went on to assert that Israel would never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, claiming Tehran only had “two options”.
“Iran’s decision-makers have two options: either to accept the American demands or collapse under the weight of the economic sanctions,” he said.
Katz’s remarks come as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu begins a tour of Europe during which he plans to discuss Iran's nuclear program with German, French and British officials.
The U.S. administration has threatened to impose “the strongest sanctions in history” if Iran fails to comply with the terms of a new deal that would replace the 2015 agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group of nations (the UN Security Council’s five permanent members plus Germany).
On May 8, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the landmark 2015 agreement and announced the re-imposition of sanctions.
