Kadima leader hints he will not back Israeli military adventurism against Iran

TEHRAN,July 25(MNA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former top political partner said on Monday that he will not back Israeli military “adventures”, comments that appeared to caution against possible action against Iran, Reuters reported. Shaul Mofaz, now opposition leader, made the remarks less than a week after pulling his centrist Kadima party out of the governing coalition, where he served as vice premier for more than two months. As a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, Mofaz was privy to deliberations on Iran’s nuclear program. “Kadima will not embark on any operational adventures that will risk the future of our sons and daughters, and the future of Israel’s citizens,” Mofaz, who formerly served as chief of Israel’s armed forces and an ex-defense minister, told a news conference. Israeli prime ministers have traditionally consulted with opposition leaders on major military operations. Mofaz’s opposition increases the political risks for Netanyahu in his decision-making over Iran. Recent opinion polls show most Israelis would oppose any unilateral strike on Iran. Mofaz’s comments appeared to echo those of former Israeli security officials who have publicly spoken against any go-it-alone attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. On June 23, the deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces said that Israel will actually put an end to its life if it attacks the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Now the Islamic Revolution enjoys great potential and if the Zionist regime wants to take any action against us, it will put an end to its life,” Major General Mostafa Izadi told . On June 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin also said that Israel will regret it if it launches a military strike on Iran. “Look at what happened to the Americans in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I told (U.S. President Barack) Obama the same thing,” Putin stated in a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Beit-ul-Moqaddas (Jerusalem). Putin urged Israel to learn from negative U.S. experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq. Israel has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and it is widely believed to have nuclear weapons but has neither confirmed nor denied it. But Iran, as a signatory to the NPT, is developing its nuclear program for peaceful purposes.