Defense Minister Benny Gantz called on the international community to “take a stand on Iran,” at Tuesday’s Jerusalem Post Conference.
He warned that Iran aims to be a regional hegemony by developing a nuclear capability and therefore Israel has developed technological and operational tools that will guarantee its security against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Iran is first a global challenge, then a regional one and only lastly it is a threat to Israel,” he said. “The future is now, and a future with a nuclear Iran is a dark one.”
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Gantz said Israel is developing both defensive and offensive capabilities against its enemies, constantly stopping attempts to harm Israeli citizens.
“We must always remain two steps ahead, combining civilian and military capabilities to maintain Israel’s cyber superiority and to stop terrorism,” he said. “It is a vital need for Israel’s security and a common interest with our closest partners, so we are constantly engaged in learning, knowledge sharing and technological development.”
Gantz said the world is split between countries that innovate, those that steal innovation and those that oppose innovation. He said Israel belonged in the first category, Iran in the second, and the Taliban in the third. He said Iran uses reverse engineering and industrial espionage to take apart Western technologies and produce weapons.
He praised the Abraham Accords, which he said promote creativity, innovation and information sharing.The last speaker at the conference, the defense minister joked, “It’s a pleasure to be here with those who actually survived the conference.”