Netanyahu said to demand total control over Iran policy, angering Gantz

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz are reportedly fighting over Israel’s policy on the Iran nuclear program, with the premier seeking exclusive authority on the issue.

According to the Walla news site, over the past several days, Gantz has pushed back at Netanyahu’s demand, accusing the prime minister of attempting to bypass the defense establishment.

In a letter to Gantz on December 29, National Security Council chief Meir Ben-Shabbat informed him the Iran policy would be set exclusively by the prime minister, in coordination with the National Security Council. Copies of the letter were also sent to the IDF chief, head of the Mossad, Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer, and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.

Gantz responded angrily a few days later: “The issue of security and specifically on Iran is not the personal business of one man,” he wrote, according to Walla.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz attend a graduation ceremony for new Air Force pilots at the Hatzerim air base near Beersheba, June 25, 2020. (Ariel Schalit/ Pool/AFP)