Israel much prepared to attack Iran's nuclear sites: Army chief

JERUSALEM

Israel’s Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said Tuesday that the army’s preparedness to launch strikes against Iranian nuclear sites has improved.

"The level of preparedness for an operation in Iran has dramatically improved," Kochavi said in a speech for the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies cited by The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

If the army is ordered to act against the Iranian nuclear program, he said, "it will fulfill the mission that is given."

Kochavi said Iran seeks to deploy hundreds of missiles in Syria along with deploying "thousands of Shia militiamen."

The army chief said Israel managed to disrupt the Iranian vision in Syria "to establish a second Hezbollah in Syria."

Israel frequently accuses Tehran of exploiting the ongoing conflict in Syria -- where Iran supports the ruling Assad regime -- to establish a permanent military presence near Israel’s border.

From time to time, Israel launches airstrikes on positions of the Syrian regime and Iranian forces in various Syrian provinces.

Usually, Israel does not comment on such attacks. But its leaders often make statements confirming that they are working to "reduce" the Iranian presence in Syria.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar