zaterdag 16 maart 2013

Iran is ‘dead scared of Israel,’ says ex-Mossad chief

Sir Richard Dearlove (left) and Efraim Halevy address the Zionist Federation event in London

Iran is “dead scared of Israel,” and Israel has the means at its disposal to “take care of the Iranian threat,” former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy said in London.

Speaking at the UK Zionist Federation’s annual gala dinner last week, Halevy, who also served as Israel’s national security adviser, said the Iranian threat was “very serious,” that “the Iranians are misleading the world,” and that “every means” should be used to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But for now, he cautioned, “We shouldn’t discount negotiations” and shouldn’t “underestimate the president of the USA. [Barack Obama] understands the rule of game.”

“I have the indelible impression that Iran is dead scared of Israel,” he said. In the final analysis, Halevy stated, Iran “will not make it” to the bomb.

Halevy told the audience of over 400 that Israel’s existence “is not in danger and shouldn’t be questioned” despite a variety of security challenges. Among them, he acknowledged that Israel now “has a serious problem concerning Syria,” noting that rebel forces are present on what had for decades been a quiet border, and that “some rebel leaders have said they will do what [President Bashar] Assad couldn’t do, and that’s to regain the Golan Heights.”

Addressing the same event, Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain’s MI6 secret intelligence service, described Iran as “a state with many flaws and weakness, and a political system that is very fragile. There is a way through this crisis,” he insisted.

Source: timesofisrael

Israel’s Ambassador to the UK Daniel Taub addresses the Zionist Federation event in London