Major-General (res.) Itzhak Brik, former commissioner of the IDF Ombudsman, discussed the possible ramifications of the strike in the heart of Damascus, which killed senior Iranian Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) member Mohammad Reza Zahedi, with Sion Cohen on 103FM early on Wednesday.
"I see an unprecedentedly serious situation. First of all, the reaction could be very difficult," he said. "They can attack a strategic target, an embassy. They can attack both and activate Hezbollah, their own forces, but we cannot know. I see this as an unprecedented severity."
"Those who decided to attack such an important target in Syria, which included five generals who all have replacements, leads us to many possible Iranian responses, one of which may be an all-out regional war in the entire Middle East. The State of Israel is not ready for it; Israel is not completely prepared. The ground forces are small and unable to fight on several fronts," he remarked.
Brik later said that sooner or later, Israel would get caught up in a regional war. "What Israel is doing, what we decide because Israel didn't take responsibility for the target in Syria, plays into the heads of non-rational people."
"I already said before the operation in Gaza started that the Defense Minister [Yoav Gallant] and Herzi Halevi had already recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strike Hezbollah at the same time, starting a regional war," he added.
"After this group brought about the worst chaos since the establishment of the state, which happened on October 7 with Hamas, they have continued to conduct the war in an irrational way," Brik criticized.
Israel cannot act if it is not prepared for the outcomes
As for the question of whether Israel should wait and prepare accordingly before it opens a front against Iran, Brik replied emphatically: "Yes, until we restore the army and are able to deal with any possible outcome. If not, we will bring disgrace and ruin upon ourselves. You cannot act unless you are prepared. Anyone who does this is playing with fire."
"When will we be able to do so?" Cohen asked, and Brik sharply responded: "With this group, Bibi, Gallant, and Halevi, it is impossible to conduct these processes properly. They are not at all concerned with restoring the army to readiness for war and preparing the home front in order to be ready to bolster our response. We need to replace them now and immediately so that the people of Israel can recover."
"There are excellent people who can replace those who were responsible for the terrible chaos, and there are others who can also be appointed from the outside, who 15 years ago finished their duties and teach the next generation of young people what it means to prepare for and fight a war," Brik added.
Finally, Brik estimated where the tensions in the region would lead after the assassination. "We've started a process when we did what we did in Syria. We are heading for a regional war. It could happen tomorrow, in another week, or another year, and we are not ready. The people who lead us today are acting in an unrealistic and irrational way and bring risk and disaster to the country."