Aviv Kohavi, the outgoing head of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), warned Friday that Israel has three operational plans drawn up to attack Iran.
In an interview on Friday, Kohavi said that Israel drew up these plans to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, although the Pentagon recently admitted that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.
According to Israel’s i24 News, the IDF chief of staff made the claim that Iran currently has enough enriched uranium to develop four nuclear bombs, but this is completely false. Iran has no uranium enriched at the 90% level needed for weapons grade, and any other enriched uranium can’t be used to make a bomb. Iran’s highest level of uranium enrichment is currently 60%.
Kohavi outlined the IDF’s plans for potential strikes on Iran, including attacks on its nuclear program, non-nuclear sites, and military sites. “These extend from a retaliatory strike on Iran that would be unrelated to the nuclear issue, to the taking out of the Iranian nuclear installations and auxiliary sites in that project, and if the situation eventually escalates into a full-fledged campaign then these plans also include the targeting of military sites and other assets,” he said.
Kohavi spent much of his time as the head of IDF working on “accelerating” plans to strike Iran, although it’s not clear if Israel could pull off airstrikes on the country without support from the US. In November, Kohavi traveled to Washington DC and received commitments from US officials to step up military cooperation with Israel.
Following Kohavi’s trip to Washington, the US and Israel simulated bombing Iran during drills over the Mediterranean Sea. Such cooperation is expected to continue as the new Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to ramp up Israel’s hawkish policies against Iran, and the US has no intention of reviving the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.
Kohavi is set to be replaced on Monday by Herzi Halevi, who is currently serving as the deputy chief of staff. Kohavi criticized the coalition agreement that formed the new government for handing powers to Israeli civilian authorities in the occupied West Bank that used to be under military control.
This article was originally featured at Antiwar.com and is republished with permission.
