Israel Army said it will take "every possible measure" to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions, even as its chief on Tuesday termed US rendezvous with Tehran may not yield any result.
A day after Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said that if Israel does not eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat, "no one will", Israel Defence Forces Chief Gabi Ashkenazi told lawmakers that he was preparing "every possible measure" to check Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"As chief of staff, my position is to prepare all the alternatives for dealing with the Iranian nuclear problem, which is what I am doing," Ashkenazi told the Knesset's influential Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee on Tuesday.
"Iran is continuing with its programme," Ashkenazi said adding, "Nuclear weapons in Iran's hands could undermine the stability of the entire Middle East."
However, Israel's top commander also said thatJerusalem prefers sanctions alongside ongoing dialogue to resolve the issue, though he said, "A dialogue between Iran and the US is currently taking place, and I doubt it will yield results, but as far as the IDF is also concerned, this is the desirable way to stop the Iranian nuclear project."
The option of talks alongside sanctions is preferable to us, Ashkenazi said. Israel's hawkish Prime Minister yesterday told his Likud faction members said that if Israel doesn't take out Iranian threat, no one will.
"These are not regular times. The danger is hurtling toward us. The real danger in underestimating the threat," Netanyahu said addressing the threat of a nuclear armed Iran.
"My job is first and foremost to ensure the future of the state of Israel ... the leadership's job is to eliminate the danger. Who will eliminate it? It is us or no one," the hardliner asserted.
