Deputy PM: Someone 'may have to take military action against Iran'

Credible military option is best backup plan in case sanctions and diplomatic isolation fail, Moshe Ya’alon says

As the second round of talks between Iran and world powers about its nuclear program began in Baghdad on Wednesday, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who is also a deputy prime minister, declared that Israel “will not rest until the centrifuges in Iran stop spinning.”

Ya’alon, who said in an interview on Monday that Israel would be unsatisfied with any agreement that allows Iran to enrich uranium on its own soil, was quoted by Walla News on Wednesday as saying that all means must be used to prevent Iran from establishing a nuclear weapons program.

“Sanctions must continue and they must be severe,” Ya’alon said. In addition, he added, there must be “diplomatic isolation, support for the opposition, and a credible military option that can only be averted by applying all the other means.”

If all that fails to stop Iran’s nuclear program, the former IDF chief of staff said, “it may be that someone will have to take military action against Iran.”