Former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh warned pro-Israel lobbyists in Washington on Sunday of the dire consequences that Iran's attainment of nuclear weapons would have on Israel and the entire Middle East.
"The terrorists across the region will raise their heads because they will have nuclear backing... it will spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East," Sneh told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee at its annual conference. "Immigration to Israel will stop; parents will encourage their children to leave the country; investment in Israel will drop significantly; moderates in the Middle East will become more extreme."
The event drew more than 6,000 participants, including politicians, students, Jewish community activists and academics. Much of the discussion at the conference was devoted to Iran's nuclear ambitions, which Israel and the United States say are aimed at producing atomic weapons. Sneh also touched on the much-touted possibility of an Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. "From what we know about the progress of Iran's nuclear program, this is the deadline for a decision," he said. "This is an undiplomatic answer, but you need to assume that we have a [military] operational solution, and this is based on what we can do on our own, without permission and without support."
