Israeli army chief rules out military action against Iran

Israeli chief of staff General Dan Halutz on Thursday ruled out the prospect of a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities at this stage.  "I don't think that a military intervention against Iran's nuclear installations should be needed in the short term," Halutz said during a special interview with Israel's army radio.

"There is no threat to the existence of the state of Israel as long as Iran does not possess nuclear arms," he added.

Halutz stated he did not believe Iran would actually complete manufacturing a bomb "before the start of the next decade." According to him, the Iranian regime had "decided to obtain these (nuclear) weapons". "If they manage to do so, we will not be the only ones targeted and we should work out how to defend ourselves," he added.