Israel is making preparations to carry out military attacks in Iran after December, a French magazine reported overnight Wednesday.
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi speaks to Army Radio.
Photo: IDF
According to the report in Le Canard Enchainé quoted by Israel Radio, Jerusalem has already ordered high-quality combat rations from a French food manufacturer for soldiers serving in elite units and has also asked reservists of these units staying abroad to return to Israel.
The magazine further reported that in a recent visit to France, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told his French counterpart Jean-Louis Georgelin that Israel was not planning to bomb Iran, but might send elite troops to conduct activities on the ground there.
These, according to the magazine, could involve the sabotage of nuclear facilities as well as assassinations of top Iranian nuclear scientists.
Israel has recently toned down rhetoric against Iran so as not to hinder US diplomatic efforts for Iranian transparency regarding its nuclear program, but neither Jerusalem nor Washington have so far made any unequivocal statements to the effect that the military option against Iran was no longer being considered.
Israel has maintained that it has the military capability to tackle Iran on its own if sanctions against the Islamic Republic prove ineffective.
Israel accuses Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. Teheran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful.
The Jerusalem Post could not confirm Le Canard Enchainé's report.
