'If Iran even comes close to having nuclear weapons Israel must stop it'
Former Mossad director Yossi Cohen said on Tuesday that Iran's position is weaker than it has been in the past.
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"I think that Iran, to this day, is not even close to acquiring a nuclear weapon. … This is due to longstanding efforts by some forces in the world," he said at a conference hosted by The Jerusalem Post.
Speaking to the news publication, he noted that there is more opposition to Iran's nuclear program now than in the past, as there is "less foreign support" for its activities.
If Iran were to develop nuclear weapons, Cohen asserted that Israel must stop it on its own.
"They should not sleep quietly in Iran," he said, according to the report.
The Islamic republic insists that its nuclear efforts are strictly for civilian and peaceful purposes, but Israeli intelligence – shared with world powers and the International Atomic Energy Agency – shows that Tehran has and continues to maintain a nuclear military program, which Israel deems an existential threat.
Given Iran's repeated threats to wipe the Jewish state off the face of the map, Israel has stated that it will not allow Iran to become a nuclear threshold state – a position the Biden administration ostensibly agrees with, although the American president has stated that he plans to exhaust all diplomatic options vis-à-vis Iran before devising a "Plan B."
Regarding the 2015 nuclear deal, which the United States left in May 2018 and which Biden administration have been involved in indirect talks to re-enter an agreement, Cohen said "it is not comprehensive; it has to be comprehensive."
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He added that the deal needs to be redone to be effective.
The former Mossad chief now serves as head of SoftBank's investment operations in Israel.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
