The Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi, revealed that his forces have raised their level of readiness to carry out a military operation against Iran's nuclear program if the need arises, and that they have thwarted Iran's attempts to plant hundreds of missiles in Syria.
In a speech delivered today, Tuesday, before the Institute for National Security Research, Kochavi confirmed that his forces had improved their readiness to strike Iranian nuclear targets, and that the level of preparation for an operation in Iran had improved significantly.
He explained that the Israeli Air Force recently conducted two exercises simulating the bombing of Iranian nuclear reactors, and that the rate of army operations against the Iranian presence in the region during this year amounted to one operation every week, compared to less than 7 operations per year during the previous three years.
Kochavi added, "I will say more than that, the Israeli army will be ready for the day when an order to act against the nuclear program is issued, and it will accomplish the task that is assigned to it."
On the other hand, Kochavi considered that "the Iranian vision for the establishment of a second Hezbollah in Syria faltered," considering that Iran intended to deploy hundreds of surface-to-surface missiles in Syria, along with tens of thousands of Shiite militia members.
He pointed out that Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi was scheduled to visit Syria today, and that he "will see that there are much fewer weapons, bases and fewer forces."
The Israeli Chief of Staff considered that what he called the Iranian military positioning project in Syria had failed due to the operations carried out by the Israeli army since 2013.