Moshe Ya’alon, who recently joined the Likud Party, denies the accuracy of a report appearing in the Sidney Morning Herald stating he calls for the elimination of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Herald reports that Israel is preparing a strike against Iran, but Ya’alon stated the report is baseless.

The article quotes the former IDF chief of staff as saying without defeating the Iranian regime; there cannot be peace in the region.

Ya’alon stated “the regime in Iran can be defeated by economic, political and other sanctions, and the military option is only a last resort”. He stated putting his name to any other statement is simply not correct.

He added that he was chief of staff in 2003, and he was surprised by America’s decision to enter Iraq, not Iran. He said “unfortunately, the Americans did not have a desire to enter Iran.”

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)