Israel may target Iran's nuclear, economic assets, says former US Defence Secy
Oct 06, 2024
Washington DC [US], October 6 : Former US Defence Secretary Mark Esper weighed in on Israel's likely response to the missile attack by Iran on October 1, and said that there is a possibility of potential attacks on Iran nuclear facilities, The Hill reported.
"It'll be a significant strike," Esper told media. He further said that the Israeli forces would go into Tehran and "go after the Ayatollah Khomeini, they'll go after President Pezeshkian, and they'll go after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."
The former US Defence Secy added that Israel's military would also have to knock out Iran's command and control centers to prevent communication with the rest of the regime. However he cautioned that if Iran's nuclear sites, were to be targeted, Israel would need to assess the risk of losing some personnel, The Hill reported.
His comments come after President Joe Biden said earlier that he does not support the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carrying out strikes on Iranian oil or nuclear sites.
The latest attacks upon Israel are a significant development in the war-like situations developed in West Asia and comes at the background of the October 7 massacre's one year anniversary.
Esper said another set of military targets that Israel could target are ballistic missile production sites, storage sites and drone production sites. He added that the IDF could also go after "economic targets", like the "12 to 14 facilities involved in oil refining and manufacturing and distribution, and some are right there on the Gulf Coast," he said.
Asked if Israel is capable of handling the risk of a wider war in the region if they do retaliate against Iran, Esper said, "I suspect they are." But, he noted, they would need help from allies, such as the US, as reported by The Hill.
He added that Hezbollah too is "on the ropes" after Israel took out much of its leadership.
The Hezbollah leadership suffered a fatal blow after Israeli armed forces conducted targeted airstrikes across Lebanon, killing major leaders including the Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah.
Since then Iran has been targeting Israel and warning of more attacks to follow.
