Israel is "ready" to attack Iran

ALBAWABA - Israel has significantly improved the level of its preparedness for an attack on Iran, Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said.

Although Kochavi's comment underlines the seriousness Israel attaches to the military option against Iran, it could also be interpreted as an attempt to maintain pressure on Tehran, which has shown more flexibility in recent days announcing that it is ready to sign a nuclear deal and wishes to resume dialogue with the United States.

Nevertheless, the comment is worrying with incoming Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu taking office. Netanyahu, who leads the Israeli right-wing, has called for a parliamentary vote on his Cabinet on Thursday. Netanyahu is an ardent critic of Tehran and its religious leaders, who once vowed to eradicate Israel from the map of the Middle East. 

“The level of preparedness for an operation in Iran has dramatically improved,” Kohavi said at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, according to the Jerusalem Post.

“I will say more than that. The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) will be ready for the day when an order is given to act against the nuclear program, and it will fulfill the mission that it is given,” Kochavi reportedly added. 

Any planned Israeli move against Tehran could also be directed to Syria, Iran's main Arab ally. Kochavi said Iran seeks to deploy hundreds of missiles in Syria along with deploying "thousands of Shiite militiamen," according to Anadolu. The army chief said Israel managed to disrupt the Iranian vision in Syria "to establish a second Hezbollah in Syria," the Turkish news agency added, referring to the militant Shiite Muslim group, an Iranian proxy, which operates in Lebanon.

Kochavi pointed out that Israel carries out an average of at least one operation against Iran every week, somewhere in the Middle East, according to the Jerusalem Post. He did not say where, or explain it further.