'Iran is our central threat, must be prioritized as such'
Amos Gilad: Iran doesn't pose an immediate nuclear threat, but Tehran has great motivation to develop one; Iran believes Israel has no place.
By JPOST.COM STAFFAmos Gilad 311(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (CC) by Hanay)Senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad warned on Friday that Iran is the central threat to Israel and said it should be prioritized as such by leaders in Jerusalem.Speaking at the Ashkelon Academic College, Gilad admitted that there is no immediate nuclear threat, but said "there is certainly great motivation and determination [for one]" in Iran.RELATED:Clinton: Iran morphing into military dictatorship UN report may worsen fears over Iran nuclear plans Israel has never had to deal with security from so many fronts, Gilad said. "We need to know how to prioritize what to deal with first. In my opinion, we're talking about the Iranian front."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, he added, see and understand the depth of that threat and the danger it poses Israel.Asked whether Israel should attack Iran, the Defense Ministry official said, "All options are open."Israel, he explained, has no place under the sun from Iran's perspective. "[Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah] Khamenei says that Israel has no place. Iran believes that it needs to be an empire equal in strength to the United States. That is the motivation driving the development of Iran's missile capabilities.""As of now the Iranians have enriched uranium. Today the situation is that they are on the starting line - there is uranium, the knowledge is there, but they are not producing" nuclear weapons, he said.Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
