'Dagan had good intentions, spoke irresponsibly on Iran'

Minister Peled criticizes former Mossad chief for saying Israel has no valid reason to attack Iran; Dagan says trade with Iran is legal.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Dagan 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Dagan 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Minister without Portfolio Yossi Peled said on Thursday former Mossad chief Meir Dagan behaved irresponsibly and harmed Israel when he said Israel should not attack Iran.
Peled told Israel Radio that Dagan has good intentions, but some things should not be said in public.
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"Israel needs to say that is will do everything to ensure its existence, and that's it," Peled said.
On Wednesday, Dagan said that Israel can not stop Iran's nuclear program, and that an attack would lead to regional war.
He also dismissed the scandal surrounding the Ofer brothers' dealings with Iran for the second time in three days.
The entire affair, he said, is a question of whether they broke the law by sending merchandise to the Islamic Republic. "From what I know, they didn't break the law."
The former Mossad chief told a conference in Tel Aviv that he was speaking out not because he's the Ofer family defender - "I'm not their representative." He explained, "I am just looking after the State of Israel."
The Ofer family, he said, did not trade with Iran. And besides, he added, "nobody placed an embargo on Iran, they only placed sanctions on it."