Former Mossad DG: Iran Should Fear Next 12 Weeks

 Efraim Halevy

Former Mossad chief's statement comes as Netanyahu warns time for diplomacy running out amid speculation an attack may take place before US elections.

Former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy added to speculation of an impending Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear program in a statement published by The New York Times Wednesday.

"If I were an Iranian, I would be very fearful of the next 12 weeks," Halevy said.

Speculation in the media and in political circles about the timing of a potential attack on Iran has focused in recent weeks on whether it needs to happen over the summer, before the US elections, or if it can wait until afterward, maybe as far away as next spring.

Earlier in the week, both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that time was running out for sanctions and diplomacy to have an effect on Iran's nuclear ambitions. Both men made the statements during a visit to Israel by US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

“We clearly have something to lose by this stretched time [during] which sanctions and diplomacy takes place, because the Iranians are moving forward, not just in enrichment,” Barak said.

Speaking before meeting Panetta in his office, Netanyahu said the constant rhetoric about all options being on the table regarding Iran has not moved the ayatollahs.

Car Explosion Kills Israel's Mossad Deputy Head Teseby Ashkolov

Israeli Mossad’s deputy head Teseby Ashkolov was assassinated by an explosive device which blew up in his car in Spain, while another Israeli source reported that an assassination attempt aiming at Minister of Defence Ehud Barak was thwarted in Singapore.

The news followed that of the bomb attack against the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, that of the explosive device defused in Tbilisi and of the blast near two Israeli buildings in Bangkok. Further details on the assassination attempt remain vague.
Meanwhile, Israeli channel 2 reported Barak’s assassination attempt, whereas the radio station ‘Sound of Israel’ reported the Minister of Defence as saying that Iran exaggerated while expressing how advanced its nuclear programme is. Barak added that "such a declaration makes it imperative to intensify the international sanctions against Iran so as to paralyze its abilities”.

Barak confirmed in a radio interview that the Iranian nuclear programme has not reached the point of no return yet. He then suggested that Ahmadinejad's country might be behind the three attacks against the Israeli embassies.