Gantz Warns Against Iran’s Attempt to Act Freely through Hizbullah

Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz warned on Wednesday that a nuclear Iran would give itself freedom of action against Israel through Hizbullah and other militants.

That freedom might be expressed "against us, via the force Iran will project toward its clients: Hizbullah in Lebanon, Islamic Jihad in Gaza,” Gantz told Israeli dailies in Independence Day interviews.

He warned that Israel will take strong action against Lebanon in any future war

"When (Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan) Nasrallah comes out of his bunker, he’s concerned – and rightfully so. He saw what happened to Lebanon last time, and it won’t be close to what will happen to Lebanon next time," the Israeli army chief said. "I think they understand it well."

He also hinted that Israel's military preparedness must now include a much greater and more varied range of arenas and possibilities.

"I don't know what will happen in Syria, but presumably the Golan Heights won't be as quiet as before. I cannot remove Syria from the military equation, nor Lebanon,” he told the newspapers.

“I assume that if there are terror threats from the Golan or Lebanon I'll have to take action,” Gantz said, adding “the enemy's fire capabilities have developed at every distance, four or five times what they were in the Second Lebanon War and four or five times compared to the Gaza Strip before Operation Cast Lead, not to mention the new ground-to-air missile in Syria.”

Gantz said the international pressure on Iran, in the form of diplomatic and economic sanctions, is beginning to bear fruit.

“The military option is the last chronologically but the first in terms of its credibility. If it's not credible it has no meaning. We are preparing for it in a credible manner. That's my job, as a military man,” he added.