Key members of Israel’s opposition reacted Thursday to a New York Times report claiming that President Donald Trump stepped in to stop Israel from launching a strike against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Yair Lapid, head of the opposition, posted on X/Twitter that back in October he had suggested targeting Iran’s oil industry.
“Destroying Iran’s oil industry would have caused its economy to collapse and would have ultimately brought down the regime. Netanyahu was afraid, so he prevented the move,” Lapid wrote.
Benny Gantz, who leads the National Unity party, echoed the urgency of neutralizing Iran’s nuclear ambitions in his own message on X.
“Israel must, and can, remove the prospect of Iranian nuclear capabilities,” Gantz said. He added, “The Iranian regime is an expert at stalling,” and emphasized the need for strong cooperation with Washington: “Let us coordinate closely with our great ally, the US. It is time to change the Middle East.”
Naftali Bennett, Israel’s former prime minister and a current political figure, also weighed in on the article and broader issue.
“The only deal worth making with Iran is one that fully and permanently dismantles its nuclear program, ends all Iranian terrorism, and fully stops it from developing ballistic missiles,” Bennett wrote.
He added, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the US has amassed for itself unprecedented leverage.”
“At this moment, America is strong while the regime and its proxies are temporarily weaker than ever, almost defenseless,” he said.
“It would be a historic miss to allow Iran to regroup and threaten us—the US, Israel and the rest of the world—again,” he concluded.
{Matzav.com}