Lt. Col. (res.) Itamar Eitam, a former reserve battalion commander and member of the “Called to the Flag” movement, addressed the growing security tensions with Iran and threats from Lebanon in an interview Sunday morning with Dana Varon.
Eitam opened by discussing the possibility of direct confrontation with Tehran: “It seems that as time passes and these blows intensify, there will be no escape from another round,” Eitam said, adding: “I hope it will be a decisive round, especially in the context of a fatal blow to this regime.”
Eitam stressed that Israel must focus on the nuclear threat: “The nuclear issue must always be at the forefront of our minds—that’s the main thing and we must not take our eyes off it. It’s possible that the next round will allow us once again to try and diminish these capabilities.”
Regarding the northern front, Eitam warned that Iran may use its proxies to avoid direct confrontation on its own territory: “One of the possibilities we need to consider is that the Iranians will try to respond against Israel specifically in Lebanon. From their perspective, they’re allowing themselves to exact a price, threaten and deter Israel as they see it.” He added that escalation is already visible on the ground: “We already saw last night a return to drone and UAV attacks in certain locations, and that should concern us.”