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Ya'alon: Israel must 'consider killing Ahmadinejad' By Haaretz Staff and Agencies Former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon was quoted as saying by an Australian newspaper this week that the West must consider all options necessary to stop Tehran's nuclear program, including assassinating Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "We have to confront the Iranian revolution immediately," Ya'alon said in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, published this morning in Australia. "There is no way to stabilize the Middle East today without defeating the Iranian regime. The Iranian nuclear program must be stopped." Advertisement When asked whether "all options" included a military deposition of Ahmadinejad and the rest of Iran's current leadership, Ya'alon told The Herald: "We have to consider killing him. All options must be considered." Israeli media, meanwhile, quoted an aide to Ya'alon as saying the former chief of staff never suggested assassination, just defeating the Iranian regime. Ya'alon, who served as IDF chief of staff from 2002 to 2005, also told The Herald that a military strike on Iran would be welcomed by regional elements as quelling the most divisive conflict in the Middle East today. "Any military strike in Iran will be quietly applauded by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Gulf states," he was quoted by The Herald as saying. "It is a misconception to think that the Arab-Israeli conflict is the most important in the Middle-East. The Shi'ite-Sunni schism is much bigger, the Persian-Arab divide is bigger, the struggle between national regimes and jihadism is much bigger," he was quoted as saying. "And I can't imagine the U.S. will want to share power in the Middle East with a nuclear-armed Iran." The former army chief told the paper he has long seen Iran as the source of regional terrorism and was surprised the United States chose to invade Iraq in its stead. "I was chief of staff during Operation Iraqi Freedom and I was surprised the U.S. decided to go into Iraq instead of Iran," The Herald quoted him as saying. "Unfortunately, the American public didn't have the political stomach to go into Iran." Ya'alon made headlines last week when he announced that he would be running for the Knesset on Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud list, after weeks of being courted by the opposition leader. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Spy chain Iran: We smashed espionage network linked to Israel. Poultry dilemma Will U.S. Jews have kosher Turkey this Thanksgiving?

Read & React Yossi Sarid: Is Shas' Rabbi Ovadia Yosef also an ass? Responses: 42 Aide: Ex-IDF chief did not call for Ahmadinejad to be killed Responses: 170 IDF: Retaking Gaza will cost Israel NIS 17 million a day Responses: 127 Report: Gaza militants agree to cease rocket fire if Israel opens crossings Responses: 92 Poll: 70% of Israeli Arab women think slaps are not domestic abuse Responses: 57 More Headlines 22:10 Olmert to Rice: EU, U.S. officials starting to talk with Hamas 02:18 Documents obtained by Haaretz reveal split among Hamas leaders 23:14 Policeman filmed head-butting East Jerusalem residents 01:10 Report: Israel willing to release more prisoners for Shalit 01:09 ANALYSIS / Elections are Gilad Shalit's greatest hope 02:01 Attacks on Israel expected as UN marks Solidarity with Palestinian People Day 02:35 Now you can get the Koran on your cellphone 23:38 Settler leader: Hebron evacuation will be met with force greater than Amona 21:56 Germany pursues arrest of well-known Holocaust denier set free by U.K. court 23:16 Bank of Israel lowers interest rates to record low of 2.5% 16:17 'Scrubs' star Zach Braff falls in love with Tel Aviv 15:42 Iraqi court acquits legislator for making trip to Israel 15:11 Barak: Hezbollah has 42,000 rockets, some can hit Dimona 00:40 Reported cases of domestic abuse among immigrants in Israel at its lowest 23:40 Palestinian meet in Syria highlights refugees' right of return Previous Editions Select Day 24 nov 23 nov 21 nov 20 nov 19 nov 18 nov 17 nov 16 nov 14 nov 13 nov 12 nov 11 nov

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