Netanyahu Threatens to Attack Iran ‘Before It’s Too Late’

Insists Iran Getting Closer to 'Red Line'

Because it’s TV, and because it’s the only thing he cares to talk about at most of his public appearances, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to attack Iran today, insisting during an appearance on CBS that Iran is nearing the “red line” and must be stopped “before it’s too late.”

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because Netanyahu issues essentially the same statement every few days, and his government has been predicting Iran would cross the “red line” they made up within six months, and reissuing that prediction every six months like clockwork.

Netanyahu also made a public point in his nominally private cabinet meeting today of demanding “more credible” threats for the US to attack Iran, and more international sanctions against Iran.

Though couched as a reaction to Iran, the nation hasn’t actually done anything new in the past six months, and with respect to nuclear weapons doesn’t appear to have done anything at all in several years. Netanyahu’s calls for more threats and sanctions, rather, appear to be tantamount to blackmail, demanding the US give in to his whims and threatening to start a huge regional war that the US would get sucked into if they don’t give in.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.