Netanyahu says Iran is responsible for 95% of threats against Israel

Speaking ahead of the Passover holiday, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the Iranian regime was responsible for the vast majority of security threats against Israel. 

“Iran is responsible for 95% of the security threats against us, including those that you deal with both directly and indirectly,” Netanyahu told the Israel Security Agency, known as Shin Bet, and the Israel Defense Forces General Staff Forum. 

“Tomorrow we will sit around the Seder table and we will read: ‘In every generation, there are those who rise up to destroy us,’” noted the prime minister before adding a warning to Israel’s enemies. 

“But from here, I want to reiterate to the enemies of Israel that they should not err,” Netanyahu said, suggesting that those against Israel should not attempt to take advantage of Israel’s domestic disputes, including over the nation’s judicial overhaul. 

“No debate will prevent us from wielding the sword and shield to defend ourselves and repel any aggression by them in order to ensure the continuity of the Zionist enterprise,” Netanyahu said. 

Prior to Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran and Israel enjoyed full diplomatic relations and close military and intelligence ties. However, the current ayatollah regime in Tehran views America as the “Great Satan” and Israel as the “Little Satan.” 

Despite the fact that Israel and Iran have no territorial or political dispute between them, the Islamist regime openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, and Iran and Israel have been locked in a protracted shadow war across the Middle East. 

Iran has invested vast resources in entrenching itself militarily in Syria, thereby threatening Israel’s northern border. Israel has responded by targeting hundreds of Iranian targets across Syria. 

The Iranian regime’s pursuit of nuclear weapons via expanding their uranium-enrichment program constitutes an existential threat to Israel. Thus, Israeli leaders have threatened to take military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities if international diplomacy fails to stop the ayatollah regime from acquiring nuclear weapons. 

Israel has invested significant resources in preparing for a potential military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. 

In December, former IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi said the IDF has greatly improved its striking capabilities against Iran. 

“The level of preparedness for an operation in Iran has dramatically improved,” the former chief said. “I will say more than that. The IDF will be ready for the day when an order is given to act against the nuclear program, and it will fulfill the mission that it is given.”