Former Israeli DM: Plans to Attack Iran Rejected

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli officials are criticizing former Defense Minister Ehud Barak for revelations that Israel was prepared to attack Iran several years ago.

His remarks have stirred up Israel's political scene at a time when it's dealing with the recent Iranian nuclear agreement.

According to Barak, he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were prepared to attack the Islamic Republic three times between 2010 and 2012.

Barak's revelations came to light when Israel's Channel 2 played audio recordings in which Barak says that in 2010 he thought they had approval among government ministers for a strike on Iran.

But he says two cabinet ministers -- current Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and current National Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz -- backed down from the plan.

Steinitz and Ya'alon are questioning Barak's view of events and why the military censor allowed the recording, which revealed one of the country's deepest secrets, to be played. Many analysts wonder if there's some political motivation behind Barak's revelations.

The recording came from interviews Barak conducted for a biography called My Life's Wars and were supposed to be off the record.

The revelations come at a sensitive time when many wonder if Israel is still poised to attack Iran after the recent nuclear agreement.
 
In the meantime, as members of the U.S. Congress prepare to vote on the Iranian nuclear deal, the Associated Press released the text of the secret agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
 
According to the report, Iran itself will provide photos, videos and environmental samples to the IAEA from the Parchin military site, where many believe Iran is developing a nuclear trigger for an atomic bomb.

Meanwhile, Iranian leaders and their proxies continued their war of words against Israel.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said, "We believe with certainty that Israel, this cancerous tumor, is headed for extinction and that Palestine and Jerusalem will be returned to their people."

And a media outlet associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard released a video on YouTube showing an Islamist invasion of Jerusalem.