Benny Gantz, head of Blue and White party, delivers a statement in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 20, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Amir Cohen.

i24 News – Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in an interview Thursday that Israel was ready to strike Iran as the shadow war that the two have fought over recent years threatens to break out into the open.

Speaking to Ynet, Gantz was asked directly if Israel was prepared to attack the Islamic Republic, to which he responded in the affirmative, reported the Jerusalem Post. The defense minister added similar sentiments to those aired Wednesday at a meeting with diplomats from member states of the United Nations Security Council when he said that Iran was not only a menace to Israel, but also the region and the entire world.

Despite Iran’s denials and protestations that it is not seeking to use its nuclear program for the development of atomic weapons, but rather domestic energy consumption, the Jewish state is confident that the Islamic Republic — even during the days of the so-called Iran deal signed in 2015 — is attempting to develop the capabilities to manufacture a nuclear arsenal, while delivering those warheads via its highly-advanced ballistic missile program.

Gantz referenced the recent deadly suicide UAV attack against the commercial vessel Mercer Street in the Gulf of Oman last week, in which a British citizen and a Romanian national were killed — which Iran has denied being involved with.

“Iran seeks to pose a multi-front challenge to Israel and is building up its forces in Lebanon and Gaza, deploying militias in Syria and Iraq, and maintaining its supporters in Yemen. Iran is a global and regional problem and a challenge to Israel,” Gantz said.

As a result, he maintained that Israel must continue to develop its abilities to cope with threats on multiple fronts, as this was in the country’s future.