Israel says it has capability to strike Iran

Israel's outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Israel has the capability to conduct a military operation against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who replaced Benjamin Netanyahu after more than 12 years in power, said that after he assumed office, he discovered “total neglect” when it came to preparing an Israeli military option against Iran.

Bennett, Gantz and outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid all said Netanyahu’s belief that former President Trump would order a U.S. strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities and the fact that Netanyahu didn’t pass a budget out of his own political considerations led to a gap in the Israeli military's preparedness.

"Israel has the capability to operate in Iran and we must continue strengthening it," Gantz told reporters. "We achieved preparedness, we have (more) capabilities we are developing and we have long-term processes I don’t want to elaborate on," he added. "We need to prepare this option and it will have to be considered very carefully before any decision is made."

"At the time, it was decided by the same person who is expected to become prime minister soon not to do it. I think that in this context Netanyahu will act with judgment," he said.