Former Israeli military chief and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of fabricating claims that Iran possessed nuclear weapons in order to frighten the Israeli public ahead of expected general elections.
Speaking at a conference in central Israel on Wednesday, Eisenkot rejected Netanyahu’s recent assertions that Iran already had atomic bombs, describing the claims as false and politically motivated.
“Netanyahu said repugnant things. Iran had no nuclear bombs whatsoever. He is fabricating reality to frighten the Israeli public,” Eisenkot was quoted as saying by Israeli media.
The remarks came in response to an interview Netanyahu gave to Israel’s right-wing Channel 14 on Tuesday, in which he claimed: “I entered Iran twice to save us from annihilation by atomic bombs that were already in their hands.”
Eisenkot, who served as Israel’s military chief of staff from 2015 to 2019 and recently announced his bid to become prime minister, said the premier was attempting to rewrite facts for domestic political gain.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also disputed Netanyahu’s account, saying the prime minister’s claims that Iran already possessed nuclear bombs were “a lie” and an attempt to rewrite history.
Iran has consistently denied seeking nuclear weapons, insisting its nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful. No international report has confirmed that Tehran possesses nuclear weapons.
Israel, meanwhile, is widely believed by international experts to be the only country in the Middle East with a nuclear arsenal, although it has never officially acknowledged possessing such weapons.
