'There is no time for conventional weapons' – Lieberman calls for nuclear strike on Iran

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

Avigdor Lieberman, a member of the Israeli Knesset and leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, has called for the use of unconventional weapons, including nuclear weapons, against Iran.

In an interview with Israel's Channel 12 on Wednesday, Lieberman said Israel should abandon its policy of ambiguity regarding its unconventional capabilities.

When the presenter asked him to repeat his statement, he reiterated: “We don't have time for conventional weapons.”

Recently, Lieberman criticized the current Israeli government for its poor handling of the war, saying that Israel had no choice but to confront Iran directly.

At the same time, Kamal Kharrazi, head of the Strategic Council on Iranian Foreign Relations, warned that Israel's declaration of war on Hezbollah in Lebanon could escalate into a wider conflict.

Russia says Israel's statements on nuclear option raise 'a lot of questions'

He stressed that Iran would fully support Hezbollah if Israel launched a global war, suggesting that such an escalation could draw in other countries, including Iran.

On April 13, Iran launched a retaliatory attack against Israel, dubbed Operation True Promise.

Tehran fired dozens of missiles and drones from its territory toward Israel in retaliation for Israel's bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus and the killing of several military leaders in a previous Israeli airstrike on April 1.

Nuclear Weapons Policy

According to the Arms Control Association, Israel has “90 nuclear warheads and stocks of fissile material for about 200 weapons.”

Tel Aviv has never admitted to possessing nuclear weapons, but “it is universally accepted that it possesses nuclear weapons stored in a partially dismantled state, although it is not clear how many.”

Iran, for its part, does not pursue a nuclear weapons policy. However, after the April 2024 attack, Iranian officials began to suggest that the country might rethink its nuclear doctrine if security conditions changed or its nuclear facilities were attacked.

'Weapons of the Apocalypse' – Israeli official urges extreme measures amid regional escalation

In 2022, the First Committee of the UN General Assembly decided that “Israel” must destroy all its nuclear weapons and submit its nuclear facilities to the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Four countries – Canada, Micronesia, Palau and the United States – as well as Israel opposed the resolution on the “risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East”. Twenty-four countries abstained, including members of the European Union.

(PC, AJA)