Ex-Israeli officials criticize Netanyahu’s bellicose stance on Iran

TEHRAN,May 1(MNA) - The former head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for adopting a bellicose stance on Iran, according to the Haaretz daily. Yuval Diskin, who was speaking at a public meeting in Beit-ul-Moqaddas (Jerusalem) on Friday, said Israel’s political leaders are exaggerating the effectiveness of a possible military attack on Iran, AP reported. “I don’t have faith in the current leadership of Israel…,” he stated. “I do not believe in a leadership that makes decisions based on Messianic feelings,” Diskin added. Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan backed Diskin on Sunday, saying that he disagrees with Netanyahu’s policy on solving Iran’s issue, according to Haaretz. He also called a strike against Iran’s nuclear program “stupid”, AP reported. In addition, Israel’s military chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, in an interview with Haaretz published on April 25, said that he does not believe Iran will decide to develop nuclear weapons, describing the country’s leadership as “very rational”. “I think the Iranian leadership is comprised of very rational people,” Gantz stated.