Israel's public security minister warned Saturday that a U.S. intelligence report that said tehran is no longer developing nuclear arms could lead to a regional war that would threaten the Jewish state. In his comments, Avi Dichter said the assessment also cast doubt on American intelligence in general, including information about Palestinian security forces' crackdown on armed groups.
According to the AP, Dichter cautioned that a refusal to recognize Iran's intentions to build weapons of mass destruction could lead to armed conflict in the Middle East. He compared the possibility of such fighting to a surprise attack on Israel in 1973 by Syria and Egypt.
"The American misconception concerning Iran's nuclear weapons is liable to lead to a regional Yom Kippur where Israel will be among the countries that are threatened," Dichter said in a speech. "Something went wrong in the American blueprint for analyzing the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat."
"A misconception by the world's leading superpower is not just an internal American occurrence," Dichter said. Any future faulty U.S. intelligence on the actions of Palestinian security forces could damage peace efforts, Dichter said.
"Those same (intelligence) arms in the U.S. are apt to make a mistake and declare that the Palestinians have fulfilled their commitments, which would carry with it very serious consequences from Israel's vantage point," Dichter said.
