Israel Defense Forces chief of staff says he has called for plans to target Iran's nuclear efforts

Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said during a speech to the Institute for National Security Studies that he had called for the development of plans that could be used to target the Islamic Republic of Iran's endeavor to develop a nuclear weapon.

"Iran can decide that it wants to advance to a bomb, either covertly or in a provocative way. In light of this basic analysis, I have ordered the IDF to prepare a number of operational plans, in addition to the existing ones. We are studying these plans, and we will develop them over the next year," Kochavi said, according to Jewish News Syndicate. "The government will, of course, be the one to decide if they should be used. But these plans need to be on the table, in existence and trained for." 

The outlet noted that Minister of Settlement Affairs Tzachi Hanegbi has said that the Jewish State could target the Iranian nuclear program if the America returns to the Iran nuclear deal.

Kochavi opposes the prospect of America reviving its involvement in such a deal.

“With the changing of the administration in the United States, the Iranians have said they want to return to the previous agreement. I want to state my position—the position that I give to all my colleagues when I meet them around the world: Returning to the 2015 nuclear agreement or even to an agreement that is similar but with a few improvements is a bad thing, and it is not the right thing to do,” he said, according to JNS.