'Window to act against Iran': Gallant addresses Israel's strike on Islamic Republic - report

Israel's October 26 strike against Iran in retaliation to the Islamic Republic's October 1 attack on the Jewish state left a window of opportunities to target Iran before it achieves nuclear weapons, former defense minister Yoav Gallant told Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, as detailed in an opinion piece published on Saturday.    

The opinion piece, headlined "With Iran’s guard down, the US and Israel face an urgent choice," Gallant was further quoted as saying, "We showed that Iran is vulnerable," adding that Israel's  Operation Days of Repentance created "a window to act against Iran."

The aim of the operation, according to Gallant, was to ensure that in its aftermath, "Iran is weaker and Israel is stronger."

Gallant was further cited as saying that there was no longer a “strategic defense around Tehran.”

The opinion piece also quoted senior officials in the Biden administration as saying that they discerned a chance for "coercive diplomacy" with regard to Iran's nuclear aspirations. 

While Gallant reportedly expressed the hope that Israel and the US could work to bar Iran from achieving nuclear weapons, the former defense minister also said, “Israel has the means to strike Iranian assets in a precise, forceful, and sophisticated manner. If needed, we will not hesitate to act."

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that ahead of his January 20 inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump was evaluating the possibility of preemptive strikes on Iran to halt its growing nuclear program.

Operation Days of Repentance 

In late October, Israel launched Operation Days of Repentance, during which Israeli Air Force jets carried out three waves of strikes, targeting some 20 military sites in Iran.  

The purpose of the attacks was to damage Iran's air defenses and its ability to produce ballistic missiles in the long term. 

Israel had vowed to respond to Iran's October 1 attack, which saw the Islamic Republic fire some 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in what the IRGC said was a response to the killing of Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah. 

Prior to October 1, Iran last attacked Israel on April 14, launching some 300 aerial threats at the Jewish State. 

Netanyahu fires Gallant

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant on November 5, noting a "crisis of trust" had ensued. 

Gallant, however, argued he had been fired due to his opposition to the daycare bill, Netanyahu's disinclination to achieve a hostage deal, and form a National Commission of Inquiry into the events of October 7. 

Yonah Jeremy Bob, Yuval Barnea, Corinne Baum, and Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.