Natanz Nuclear Facility. Photo: Hamed Saber.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday that Iran is a bigger threat to Israel than Egypt, in response to a comment by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman asserting the opposite.

“The Iranian threat is a threat with existential potential,” Barak told he told Globes. “At the moment this is not the case and we must work in every way to halt the nuclear weapon process by the Iranian military. It is clear that we would rather see the entire world coping with this and we say that all options are on the table, and we mean that.”

As for Egypt, “we have influence there,” Barak said. “We are not a commentator sitting in the stadium, we are a player on the pitch and whatever we say or do not say has importance. We must find a way both in words and deeds, so that matters in Egypt will move in the direction of responsibility.