Former Mossad head Yossi Cohen claimed on Tuesday that Iran is not yet close to obtaining nuclear power.

“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,” Cohen said in response to a question by a Jerusalem Post reporter at The Jerusalem Post 10th Annual Conference in Jerusalem.

Cohen added that Iran’s position is now weaker since there is “less foreign support for what [Iran is] doing than in the past.”

Cohen said that if Iran does develop a nuclear bomb, Israel must have the capability to stop it on its own.

“We have to develop capabilities to allow us to be absolutely independent, doing what Israel has done twice before – bombing nuclear reactors in Syria and Iraq. They should not sleep quietly in Iran.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)