Gantz: Iran building up forces in its western areas to attack Israel, others

In Washington, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Friday that Iran is building up its forces in the country’s west “in order to attack countries and forces in the Middle East in general and Israel in particular. We are preparing for any such attempt, and will do everything necessary to protect our citizens and our assets.”

He said Israel was “preparing for any such attempt, and will do everything necessary to protect our citizens and our assets.”

Gantz met on Thursday with his counterpart Lloyd Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In a statement, the minister’s office said he’d detailed to American officials Iran’s use of attack drones to strike its enemies through its proxies as well as from Iranian territory.

He said that in 2018 Iran apparently tried to provide such a drone armed with TNT to Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank.

After Gantz’s meeting with Austin, he said Iran “is not just a threat to our physical security” but “a concrete threat to our way of life and our shared values.” READ MORE