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Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli defence officials on Sunday criticised Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz for threatening attacks against Iran.
Mofaz said in a newspaper interview last week that Israeli strikes on Iran were "unavoidable". Officials accused Mofaz of trying to advance personal ambitions.
"Turning one of the most strategic security issues into a political game…is something that must not be done," Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai told Israel Radio.
Israel Radio also quoted another senior defence official as saying that Mofaz's interview "did not reflect policy" and "risked making it even harder for Israel to persuade more countries to step up their sanctions against Iran".
Asked about the flurry of criticism, Mofaz aide Talia Somech said he had spoken "out of his more than 40-year-long commitment to the national security of Israel".
"We would like his statements to be taken at face value, and not be given alternative interpretations," she told Reuters.
Independent analysts have said Iran has too many fortified nuclear sites for Israel to take on alone. Iran, for its part, has threatened to retaliate for any attack with missile salvoes against Israel and US assets in the Gulf.
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