Israel calls for US-led regional coalition against Iran

By AbdelRaouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Tuesday renewed his call for establishing a US-led regional coalition to confront Iran.

Iran "closes the cameras at its nuclear sites, expands its aggressive operations in the region and rejects attempts to reach a nuclear agreement,” Gantz said during an award ceremony for Israeli soldiers.

“What is needed is not just cooperation, but also a regional force build-up, with American leadership, which would strengthen all parties involved,” he added.

The Israeli minister had made similar remarks during his recent visit to the US amid rising tensions with Iran.

Notably, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said last week that his country's policy toward Iran "has changed over the past year."

Bennett said at a meeting of the Israeli Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, after using the term "octopus" against Iran: "We are moving against the head, not just the arms, as we have been doing in past years.”

Tension has risen between Iran and the West in recent weeks amid a stalemate in talks aimed to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat