Former Israeli premier calls for destruction of Iran’s nuclear program after missile attack

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called Tuesday for the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program following an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv.

“Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East,” Bennett said on his X account.

“We must act ‘now’ to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime.”

Iran fired around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday amid heightened tensions between the two regional arch-rivals.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attack was in response to the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoshan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran made a “big mistake” with its missile attack and “will pay for it.”

Bennett said Israel “must remove this terrible threat to our children's future.”

“We have the justification. We have the tools. Now that Hezbollah and Hamas are paralyzed, Iran stands exposed,” he added.

The Israeli army has launched a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, killing more than 41,600 people, mostly women and children, and injuring over 96,400 others.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with the Israeli army launching massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets, killing more than 1,073 people and injuring over 2,950 others since Sept. 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The top leadership of Hezbollah was killed in the Israeli assaults, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

​​​​​​​The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.