Iran has “become the most dangerous country in the Middle East,” Lieut. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, Israel Defence Forces’ Chief of General Staff said Sunday, the Jerusalem Post reports.
“[Iran] is located in the third circle [in relation to Israel],” Kochavi said, referring to the country’s geographic proximity, “but is highly effective in influencing the first and second circles,” he added, referring to Iran’s alleged cooperation with a range of militias stretching from Lebanon and Syria to Yemen.
According to the officer, although Iran has “made significant progress in its nuclear weapons program, the nuclear threat is no longer the only threat. Iran also has conventional weapons.”
Kochavi accused Iran of funding ‘terrorist’ organizations like Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Palestinian territories, and of trying to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel. Although Israel, the US and many US allies recognize groups like Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist groups, many other countries do not.
Kochavi’s comments came in the wake of remarks earlier Sunday by Prime Minister Netanyahu accusing Iran of lying to the world “in order to attain nuclear weapons.” The International Atomic Energy Agency now “understands…what we have said for years,” Netanyahu said, referring to a recent agency report accusing Tehran of backpeddling on its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal. Tehran has denied the claims, and called on the international community not to listen to a report based on Mossad claims.