Dagan: Hezbollah’s Firepower 90% Stronger than World Countries

07/01/2011 Meir Dagan, who retired from his post as Mossad chief on Thursday after eight years, does not believe Iran will have nuclear capability before 2015.

In a summary given to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Dagan claimed that Iran was a long way from being able to produce nuclear weapons, following a series of “failures” that had set its program back by several years. Therefore, he said, Iran will not get hold of the bomb before 2015 approximately.

Dagan handed over the job to his successor, Tamir Pardo, in the Prime Minister’s Bureau Thursday morning, after having parted from the ministers during last Sunday’s cabinet session.

The former Mossad chief had said on various occasions in the past that Israel should go to war only if attacked, or if in immediate danger of survival.

According to a Wikileaks report, Dagan told a senior American official that it would take a series of coordinated moves to stop the Iranian nuclear program. He reportedly suggested increasing the economic sanctions against Iran, preventing the export of products required for the nuclear project to Iran, covert warfare, and encouraging minority and opposition groups to “topple” the Iranian regime.

Analysts told Israeli daily the Jerusalem Post Iran would use Hezbollah to launch massive rocket attacks against Israel if Tel Aviv targets Tehran's nuclear facilities.

"The Iranians – who are largely responsible for building up Hezbollah to such an extent that today it has more firepower than 90 percent of the countries of the world – would 'call in their chips,' and the organization would launch massive rocket attacks against Israel's home front," the analysts said about a possible Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. "It is probable some of the Hezbollah attacks would come from Syria, which means that Damascus would be drawn into the conflict," according to the daily.

The analysts told the Post that the new Mossad chief is climbing to the top of the intelligence community pyramid with working assumptions already in place on a number of issues, notably the possible strike on the nuclear facilities and its aftermath.

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