(Jpost).While stressing that Israel was not in existential danger, Defense Minister Ehud Barak noted on Monday that Iran was a central threat not only to the Jewish state, but to the entire world.
"We are not under any existential threat; I don't see anyone who would try to destroy our country," Barak said in an interview with Channel 10. "But Iran is a central threat to Israel both because of its pursuit of nuclear weapons and because it supports Hamas and Hizbullah."
Iran, he said, was "a threat to the entire world, as it is interested in changing the entire international order and is a source of instability in the Middle East and throughout the world."
When asked about overtures made by US President Barack Obama, Barak said that while Israel was "not in a position" to demand that the US not engage in talks with Iran, it was "certainly in a position to tell the international community to limit the diplomatic efforts within a set time frame and to have sanctions ready."
The defense minister hinted that Israel was not ruling out a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, saying that "Israel is prepared for all the options."
