New Israeli Budget Includes Billions for Attacking Iran

Army Chief: We Can Operate in Iran Whenever We Need to

Israeli military officials revealed today that their 2014 budget included $2.9 billion to pay for the cost of attacking Iran. They were pressed on the issue by Israeli MPs who asked if there was a justification for so much spending, but ducked the question.

Though Israel’s government rhetorically is always mere minutes away from ordering an attack on Iran, the P5+1 nuclear deals have made an attack extremely unlikely.

The Israeli military insists that the Netanyahu government told them to ignore the P5+1 deal and continue planning for an attack on Iran at any time. Army chief Benny Gantz insisted Israeli troops are capable of operating on the ground in Iran at any time.

Though Israel never got around to attacking Iran in 2013, military officials say billions of dollars were allocated for the attack then as well, suggesting the government is using the perennial threat of launching a unilateral war as a way to throw billions of realistically unallocated funds at the IDF without parliamentary oversight.

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.