During his visit to the USA, the Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Galant again warned about the threat posed by Iran's nuclear armament, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
„Iran is the biggest threat to the future of the world and the future of our region, and time is running out,” Gallant said at his meeting with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington. "Now is the time to make good on the commitment of American administrations over the years to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Gallant said. Israel continues to express concerns about Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza after the massacre of Israelis by the Palestinian extremist movement “Hamas” nine months ago, a number of pro-Iranian groups, as well as Iran itself, attacked Israel with rockets, mortars and artillery shells.
After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu verbally criticized the US government in a recent video for delaying arms shipments, Gallant is now welcoming cooperation between the two countries in defending Israel “against a massive attack by Iran and its proxies”.
Israel and the US are also working together to reach an agreement in the face of fighting on Israel's northern border. “But we need to discuss readiness for every possible scenario,”, Gallant said.
Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shia militia “Hezbollah” they have been shelling each other for eight months now. The intensity of the fighting has increased significantly in recent times. Washington is so far unsuccessfully trying to find a diplomatic settlement of the conflict, DPA notes.
Israel wants “Hezbollah“ to withdraw behind the Litani River, 30 km. from the border as stipulated by a UN resolution. Gallant recently warned that Israel is ready to launch a large-scale military operation if necessary.
According to the American television channel CNN, high-ranking US representatives have assured the Israeli delegation that the US will fully support Israel in the event of a full-scale war with “Hezbollah”.
In the meantime, it has become clear that Israel plans to use the satellite Internet service “Starlink” of Elon Musk to stay connected to the Internet if a full-scale war breaks out with the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which would cause a blackout, Reuters reported, citing Calcalist Financial Daily.
According to the release, the finance and communications ministries plan to use more than 5,000 Starlink low-orbit satellites to ensure a stable data flow in the event of an emergency. Full-scale war with “Hezbollah“ could lead to missile strikes against Israel's energy system.
None of the ministries commented on the reports to Reuters.
In February, Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi authorized the operation of “Starlink” in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
From October 7, 2023 “Hezbollah“ carried out strikes against northern Israel in response to the Israeli ground operation in Gaza. Since then, both sides have been exchanging fire across the border.