Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli army to continue preparing for a possible military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities this year.
According to a Wednesday report by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, Tel Aviv has allocated more than 2.8 billion dollars of this year’s Israeli budget to preparations for Iran attack.
Tel Aviv's stepped-up war rhetoric comes amid a wave of breakthroughs in the West's standoff with Tehran over the Iranian nuclear energy program.
Iran and the world powers wrapped up their latest round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear energy program in Vienna on Wednesday, with both sides describing the negotiations as useful and constructive.
Iran and Sextet of world powers -- Russia, China, France, Britain, the United States and Germany -- reached a deal on November 24, 2013, in the Swiss city of Geneva to set the stage for the settlement of the dispute over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.
Under the Geneva deal, the six countries agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period. It was also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same timeframe.
Israel has repeatedly threatened military action against Iran over its nuclear energy program.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned that the country will destroy the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa, in case of an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
MRS/MHB/SS