Kochavi: Iran is most dangerous country in Mideast
Despite its distance from Israel, Iran is the most dangerous country in the Middle East, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi said.
“Iran has become the most dangerous country in the Middle East,” Kochavi said Sunday at a ceremony marking Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, an entirely new position on the General Staff, which will focus principally on the fight against Iran.
“It’s made significant progress with its nuclear program, but the nuclear [threat] is no longer the only threat. Iran also possesses conventional weapons,” Kochavi said, adding that “it is located in the ‘third circle,’ but is highly effective in influencing the ‘first and second circles,’” he said.
The “three circles” refer to three tiers of direct threats to Israel, the first being terror groups along the border, like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad; the second being larger threats like Hezbollah and neighboring enemy militaries; and the third being countries that do not share a border with Israel, like Iran and Yemen.
Israel has warned repeatedly about Iran’s nuclear ambitions as well as aspirations of regional hegemony and has admitted to hundreds of airstrikes as part of its “war-between-wars” campaign to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah and the entrenchment of its forces in Syria where they could easily act against Israel.
With more active and explosive fronts on Israel’s borders, with enemy arsenals turning groups like Hezbollah into terror armies, the guiding principle for the IDF’s Momentum multiyear plan is to win any war as quickly as possible.
The directorate was formed as part of the Momentum plan and under Kalman it will bolster the IDF’s attack capabilities, including technological means for IAF jets to destroy enemy targets, increase the military’s intelligence superiority and expand its intelligence gathering on the Islamic Republic. This includes using satellites as well as bolstering the nation’s cyber (both defensive and offensive) capabilities.
And while Iran will be the directorate’s primary threat, it will also focus on other countries in the region that pose a threat to Israel.
Speaking at the ceremony, Kalman said the reality of the global and regional environment “has changed significantly,” and that while “the IDF has strengthened its position as a player in international security... faced with these challenges, the IDF is required to operate in a variety of arenas and dimensions.”
Kalman, a former fighter pilot, previously led the IDF’s Strategic Division.
Under the Momentum plan, the IDF’s Liaison Unit, which maintains relations with foreign militaries will be absorbed into the Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, which will also focus on developing the IDF’s larger strategies and international relations.
Also during the ceremony, Maj.Gen. Tomer Bar took over from Maj.Gen. Amir Abulafia, who led the Planning Division, which has been renamed as the Force Design Directorate.
Bar, also a former fighter pilot, will command the newly focused directorate, which will oversee the development of new combat and weapons techniques, specifically those that require cooperation between various branches of the military.
“By correctly making use of the technology we will expose the hidden enemy and, with high lethality and by realizing the multilateral spaces, carry out what is expected of us, creating force multipliers on the battlefield and reaching a rapid victory in every arena and facing any threat,” he said.
Hagay Hacohen contributed to this report.