Former Israeli Major General Yaakov Amidror has said that war with Iran is unavoidable if the latter continues to build up its military infrastructure in Syria, Arab48.com reported on Tuesday.
Amidror served as the National Security Adviser and was also the head of the Research Department of Israeli military intelligence. He disclosed Israel’s concerns that Iran might develop its power in Syria, just as it has in Lebanon, a direct reference to Iran-backed Hezbollah.
“The confrontation with Iran is unavoidable,” Amidror told Yedioth Ahronoth. He stressed that Israel would never allow Iran to develop its power in Syria but a war would be “complex” and there would be many losses on both sides.
He noted that Iran had sent a drone loaded with explosives to Israel. “What does this mean? Why do we continue deceiving ourselves? Iran is moving its best combat means to Syria. This is not for defending Assad, who is fixed strongly to his chair. The one who takes this way must know that it ends with a difficult war.”
Despite this, the ex-adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran’s threat “is not existential” as far as Israel is concerned. “If it launched rockets towards Israel,” he explained, “normal life would not stop, but there would be much damage to the degree that the Israelis would be paying a lot for the sake of their lives. They will find it difficult to defend themselves while the rockets launched by Iran and Hezbollah are falling on their heads.”
Israel, concluded Amidror, should be cautious, and has to maintain its right to defend itself.
Cover photo: Former Israeli National Security Advisor, Yaakov Amidror [BICOM/Twitter]
